Michelle Obama tells Drew Barrymore ‘the White House doesn’t change you’

Former first lady Michelle Obama is opening up about how her life has transformed since leaving the White House years ago. 

As previously reported, Michelle is married to former United States president Barack Obama and the couple shares two daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama. Barack made headlines in 2008 when he became the first Black president. Four years later, in 2012, Barack was re-elected for a second term. Barack, Michelle, and their family would ultimately depart from the White House in 2017 following Donald Trump’s victory. 

During a recent interview on The Drew Barrymore Show, Michelle was promoting her recent book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, a memoir that touches on overcoming life’s obstacles and uncertainty while being a light to others, when asked how she remains “grounded and connected” despite being a notable figure. 

The 59-year-old told Barrymore that she still considers herself the same person regardless of her titles. One of Michelle’s reasons surrounding her response was because that she and Barack became well known when the pair were in their 40s, and before that, they were living a regular life in Chicago. The mother of two said while also sharing her initial thoughts about Barack running for president,

“No matter how far we’ve gone, I still see myself the way you see yourself. I’m Michelle Robinson… Nobody knew who we were until we were in our 40s. I mean who is Barack Obama. We spent the majority of our lives living as a lovely loving, married couple on the south side of Chicago. We had great jobs, we got engaged in service. We had these two little girls and then my husband decided to run for president. I was like ‘what is wrong with you? We have a nice life here. Why are you going to snatch it from us?'”

Later, Michelle claimed that her humbleness stems from the values that her parents instilled in her at an early age. In addition to that statement, the Becoming author mentioned that her time in the White House just “revealed” who she was as a person, which was a determined, kind, and respectful individual.

“So what I say about the White House, the White House doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are. If you were raised to be grounded and humble…You practice that. That is who you are. So for me I was raised on the south side of Chicago by Mary and Fraser Robinson and they taught us to respect people, work hard [and] to treat each other the way we wanted to be treated.”

Michelle’s book, The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, is out now.