Former first lady Michelle Obama struggled with raising her daughters Malia and Sasha in the White House. In 2009, when their family moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with patriarch-turned-president Barack Obama, Malia was 10, while her younger sister was just 7. They spent the next eight years growing up in the spotlight.
“You want your kids to grow up normal. You want them to be able to have wonderful experiences privately. And you want them to be able to fail and stumble privately, like any other kids,” Michelle, 54, explained on the Wednesday, November 14, episode of the Today show. “When they’re not allowed to do that, it’s unfair and you feel guilty about it. Because they didn’t choose this life.”
Malia is now 20 and a sophomore at Harvard University. Sasha is 17 and a senior in high school. The Becoming author and her husband, Barack, are preparing for next fall when Sasha heads off to college.
“The question that I ask my husband is, ‘OK, let’s make sure we’re making time to enjoy the life that we’ve been working for. We’re going to be empty nesters soon,’” Michelle revealed. “I can feel in both of my girls that they were ready for the next step. I’m excited for them to to their next part of the journey.”
Earlier this month, Michelle opened up about her fertility struggles and said she felt like she had “failed” after experiencing a pregnancy loss. “We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken,” she mused during an interview with Robin Roberts.“That’s one of the reasons why I think it’s important to talk to young mothers about the fact miscarriages happen.”
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