Michelle Obama has bluntly admitted she does not miss her adult daughters now that they have left home.
The former first lady, 62, made the confession during Wednesday’s episode of “IMO,” the podcast she hosts with her brother Craig Robinson, where comedian Jon Stewart joined the siblings to discuss empty-nest parenting. Obama shares daughters Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25, with former President Barack Obama.
“I don’t miss ’em,” Obama said with a laugh during the conversation about life after children move out.
“I don’t, I love them, I’m going to see them tonight for dinner,'” she quickly clarified. “I love them, but Barack cried when they went to college and I was like, ‘Bye…'”
The stark contrast between the couple’s reactions underscored what Obama described as a relief from the anxieties of raising younger children. “Now, Friday nights aren’t wrecked with terror and fear about, ‘Where are you, where are you?'” she explained.
Obama emphasized that her ease with their departure stems from the depth of their relationship during their years together. She noted she has “had so much quality time with my children, so much, I know them inside and out,” and expressed pride in their “growth” since their “emancipation.”
The “Becoming” author has previously addressed this life transition on the same podcast. In an earlier episode this year, she called it a “new phase of life,” explaining that without children at home, “a lot of the hard things” don’t surface as frequently in their household.
“When those beautiful, lovely kids we all want show up with their own agendas and their own needs, it’s the first major joint project you have to do together,” she said at the time, referring to the parenting challenges she and Barack Obama navigated as a couple.
Malia and Sasha were just 10 and 7 years old when their father was elected president in 2008, spending their formative years in the White House under intense public scrutiny. The sisters have since maintained notably private lives, making only occasional public appearances with their parents.
The daughters were last seen publicly with both parents at the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago last June. They made another rare appearance alongside their mother in May for Mother’s Day.
Obama’s candid remarks about not missing her daughters follow a pattern of frank discussions about family dynamics that have occasionally surprised listeners. Her comments about Barack Obama’s tearful response to their daughters leaving for college offer a rare glimpse into the former president’s more emotional side, contrasting with his wife’s pragmatic acceptance of the transition.
The podcast episode arrives as the Obama family continues to balance public visibility with the daughters’ preference for privacy, nearly eight years after leaving the White House.
Obama’s latest “IMO” episode dropped Wednesday.