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Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Michelle Obama admits she and Barack clashed over popular parenting technique
Michelle Obama has revealed that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, clashed over implementing one parenting technique with their daughters when they were younger. During the latest Wednesday episode of her IMO podcast, which she hosts with older brother Craig Robinson, the former first lady admitted that she and Barack ran into some trouble as they didn't see eye-to-eye on the Ferber Method. The Ferber Method is a technique made popular in 1985 by Dr. Richard Ferber, and it's used to sleep-train babies by teaching them how to self-soothe, per Cleveland Clinic. One of the main ideas of the technique is to only check on your sleeping child in certain, timed intervals, even if they're crying. However, it was something that Barack was in favor for and Michelle against when it came to parenting Malia, now 26, and Sasha, now 24. The topic came about as the sibling pair were interviewing social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt on the latest episode. 'Well, I didn't want to do it. Barack did it. I don't know that I could have done it, because I wasn't sure about it, the notion that you just let the little person that you love the most cry and cry and cry,' Michelle shared. 'Maybe it was something about estrogen and my response to the crying, so we set it up where Barack took the night shift, I went to bed, which was helpful, because it got me some sleep,' she shared. 'I would have to cover my ears so I couldn't literally hear the crying.' However, it turned out that the method worked quite well for their family, as it took no longer than a week for the girls to get used to it. At the time they started to implement the Ferber Method, their daughters were about four or five months old. Haidt shared that he had the same experience with his children as the Obama's did when it came to implementing the Ferber Method. The admission came just weeks after Michelle had previously opened up about her relationship with her two daughters and how they started 'pushing away' from her and her husband when they were teenagers. The couple, who have been together for over 30 years, welcomed their firstborn Malia in 1998, and Sasha in 2001. The mother-of-two explained that she believes her daughters distanced themselves because they wanted to 'distinguish themselves' from their famous parents as they became adults during a recent appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast hosted by Kate and Olivia Hudson. 'Our daughters are 26 and 23, they are young adult women. But they definitely went through a period in their teen years… it was the "push away."' Michelle noted that she has found that this is something that often happens to celebrity kids. 'They're still doing that, and you guys know this of children with parents who are known,' she continued. 'You're trying to distinguish yourself. It's very important for my kids to feel like they've earned what they are getting in the world.' While striving to make her own path, Malia dropped her last name when she premiered her short film at Sundance in 2024, per OK! Magazine. 'We were like, "They're still going to know it's you, Malia,"' Michelle said of her decision. 'But we respected the fact that she's trying to make her way.'
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What's going on with the Obamas? Michelle admits she's in therapy
The Obamas and the state of their marriage have been hot on the political gossip scene for months, with rumours of separation and even (false) whispers that Barack was having an affair with Friends star Jennifer Anniston. Being such colossal figures in the world, former President Barack Obama and his First Lady Michelle Obama are always going to have the gaze of the world upon them. Now, Michelle has revealed that she is receiving therapy - but why? In an effort to cope with becoming an 'empty nester', Michelle disclosed that she is receiving therapy. The former first lady claimed that she was getting ready for the "next phase" of her life, which included working on overcoming guilt. The mother-of-two told Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast in a recent appearance: 'At this phase of my life, I'm in therapy right now because I'm transitioning, you know? 'I've finished a really hard thing in my life with my family intact, I'm an empty nester, my girls are in – you know, they've been launched.' Her two children, Malia, who graduated from Harvard in 2021 and Sasha, who graduated from the University of Southern California in 2023 are 26 and 23, respectively. But this isn't the first time the duo have been - unfairly - scruitinised for their happiness, after months of speculation about their marriage. Speaking to actor Sophia Bush on her podcast, The Conversation Continues, Obama said that people 'couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself', leading them to jump to conclusions about her relationship. 'They had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,' she said. What were the rumours and was there any truth to them? Despite ups and downs over the years, the Obamas have nearly always presented as a united front. Therefore, the fact that Barack Obama attended major state events by himself in January sparked questions and unearthed some outlandish stories from the gutters of tabloid gossip, including the bizarre theory that the former president was linked with Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston. Rumours began to circulate that Barack and Michelle Obama were drifting apart after Mr Obama attended former president Jimmy Carter's state funeral without his wife on January 9. All five living presidents and their partners were there, except Michelle, whose advisers told CNN that she had a scheduling conflict and was in Hawaii on an extended holiday. Days later, the Obamas' office released a statement saying that Michelle would be absent from another major political event: Donald Trump's inauguration. They did not provide a reason. "Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration," the statement read. This marks a break from tradition, although Donald and Melania Trump did not attend Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021. The explanation for this could be as simple as the fact that Michelle Obama has long expressed her distaste for President Trump. At a campaign rally for Kamala Harris back in November, she described Trump as 'a convicted felon, a known slumlord' and a 'predator found liable for sexual abuse'. She did attend his first inauguration back in 2020 but said on her podcast in 2023 how unpleasant it had been 'to sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display — there was no diversity, there was no colour on that stage, there was no reflection of the broader sense of America'. Obama also said she 'cried for 30 minutes straight' after the inauguration. Yet journalists and pundits mused over whether her absence is a sign of internal fissures. Some said they had been hearing whispers for months, including blogger Meghan McCain and Tara Palmeri, Puck News's senior political correspondent. Discussing the story on a podcast together, McCain said that she had been hearing the rumour from 'very serious journalists'. Palmeri agreed: 'I just heard that they live separate lives.' Incidentally, Meghan McCain is the daughter of Republican senator John McCain, who Obama defeated in the 2008 presidential election. She was not willing to name any of the 'reputable people' she had heard the rumours from. As if to set the record straight, Barack Obama shared a heartfelt post to Instagram on Michelle's birthday on January 17. 'Happy birthday to the love of my life,' the caption read. 'You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I'm so lucky to be able to take on life's adventures with you. Love you!' Yet sceptics like Meghan McCain were unconvinced. 'I would kill Ben if he put a picture of me looking like no makeup with that lighting on social media,' McCain said, referring to her husband, Ben Domenech. 'I would kill him. So for me it didn't help the rumours, and like why are you putting this like s***ty picture of your wife up?' So, the evidence for a marriage on the rocks went something like this: Michelle Obama skips inauguration of man she detests and husband uploads purportedly unflattering picture of her for birthday. Hardly a smoking gun. Just in case that wasn't enough, a crackpot cover story from In Touch magazine came back in the headlines, which claimed to know 'The truth about Jen & Barack'. That is, Jennifer Aniston of Friends fame. 'They're obsessed with each other!' claimed one highly reputably anonymous source from 'power circles in Washington and Hollywood'. Aniston addressed the story back in October during an appearance on chat show host Jimmy Kimmel's show. 'Of all the calls you get from your publicist where you're just like 'Oh, no, what's it gonna be?' or you get an email saying some cheesy tabloid is gonna make up a story — and then it's that…I was not mad at it!' she laughed, before clarifying that the story is 'absolutely untrue' and she has only met Obama once. Aside from heard-it-through-the-grapevine chitter chatter, there was little to suggest that the couple were on the rocks. The rumours turned out to be just that. 'We as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people,' said Michelle Obama on The Conversation Continues. She explained that people were unable to see her decision not to attend Carter's funeral and Trump's inauguration as 'a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself,' instead feeding off hearsay. 'That's what society does to us,' she said.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Michelle Obama urges parents not to try to be friends with their children
Former First Lady Michelle Obama said she was not her children's friend in a new podcast conversation with Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, arguing too many parents try to befriend their kids. "My kids say that this is the phrase they hate for me to say: 'I'm not one of your little friends,'" Obama said during a live episode of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, posted Friday. "And so many people are trying to be their kids' friends, and they think that that makes you closer," Obama said. "But let me tell you, I was not my children's friend. I love them deeply. There was respect. And, you know, for those of you trying to be friends with your kids, our kids love us just as much as adults. In fact, the relationship, I think, is even closer because now they've earned my friendship. Now we can be friends. Now, maybe you know something." Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters, Malia and Sasha, who were just 10 and 7 years old, respectively, when they entered the White House in 2008. In another May episode of her podcast, the former first lady said she grew up thankful, but that kids today are significantly less so. "When I think about what our parents did or didn't do, and maybe it's a little bit different because we're brother-sister, because that same gender dynamic may make it a little bit hard," Obama said in an earlier episode of her podcast, which she co-hosts with her brother. "But I know we got along for some of the same reasons," Obama said. "Our parents worked hard enough without us fighting and causing havoc. We knew our parents were working as hard as they could. We knew that they were giving us as much as they could. I guess we grew up grateful." She added that kids today should be more appreciative of what they have. "Perhaps sometimes in this generation, where kids have, I think, too much, parents are giving kids a lot of stuff, and they're not giving them some guidance," Obama said. During Friday's episode, Obama asked Beyoncé's mother for advice on how to raise multiple children. "I think, you know, one of the things is, is just that when somebody asked me, what's the best advice I can give to them, it is always that if you have more than one child, to see that child for who they are, to try to find out what, you know, what makes their clock tick or whatever. What excites them? What are their best qualities? And not compare," Knowles said.
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Michelle Obama: I'm in therapy
Michelle Obama has revealed that she is undergoing therapy to help her come to terms with being an empty nester. The wife of Barack Obama and former first lady said she was preparing for the 'next phase' of her life, with the sessions including work on dealing with feelings of guilt. 'At this phase of my life, I'm in therapy right now because I'm transitioning, you know?' the mother-of-two told Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast. 'I've finished a really hard thing in my life with my family intact, I'm an empty nester, my girls are in – you know, they've been launched.' Her daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, were children when their father won the presidency and both now live in Los Angeles. Malia, who graduated from Harvard, is a writer and director whose debut short film The Heart was selected for the Sundance Film Festival last year. 'Every choice I'm making is completely mine' Since leaving the White House, Mrs Obama, 61, has remained politically active, speaking at last year's Democratic National Convention in support of Kamala Harris. She has repeatedly turned down calls for her to run for president, pointing to the strain her husband's eight years in office had on her family. Instead, she said, she is more focused on life outside of public service and kicking 'old habits'. 'For the first time, every choice that I'm making is completely mine,' she told the British mental health podcaster. 'I now don't have the excuse of, 'My kids need this, my husband needs that, or the country needs that.' So how do I think about this next phase? Let me get some help, let me unwind some old habits, let me sort through some old guilt. 'So, I'm getting that tune-up for this next phase because I believe this is a whole other phase in life for me.' 'I worry for people of colour in this country' Elsewhere in the podcast, Mrs Obama criticised Donald Trump's immigration policy, saying that decisions to deport people are fuelled by racism. 'My fears are for what I know is happening out there in the streets,' she said. 'And now we have leadership that is indiscriminately determining who belongs and who doesn't, and we know those decisions aren't being made with courts and due process. 'Knowing that there's so much bias and so much racism and so much ignorance that fuels those kinds of choices, I worry for people of colour all over this country … that frightens me, it keeps me up at night.' The interview comes after speculation that Mrs Obama and her husband are having marital difficulties. The Obamas have been dogged by divorce rumours after Mrs Obama opted not to accompany her husband to several high-profile events – including Mr Trump's inauguration. Addressing the rumours in an interview with Steven Bartlett, the British entrepreneur, last week, she said: 'If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it. 'I would be problem-solving in public, like, 'Let me tell you what he did.''
