He has been the most powerful man in the United States for 11 years, while she is a strong, independent, determined and incredibly charming woman. Together, they are a couple admired by millions. We are talking about Barack and Michelle Obama. His future wife didn’t immediately like him, but he was able to win her heart for many years of marriage. To this day, they still have that boundless love. Read more about how it happened on chicagoka.
Acquaintance of the future couple
Michelle has been an ambitious girl since childhood, aiming to do something good for society and ensure justice prevails. That’s why she connected her life with the legal field.
She started her career as a junior specialist in a law firm. In addition to career growth and a job she enjoyed, she also received a fairly decent salary. During her work, she managed to independently purchase a car for herself and also helped her parents by covering the expenses for their housing, which was located nearby their home.
One day, the girl’s supervisor informed her about an intern, a freshman from Harvard, who would be doing an internship at their company. Michelle was supposed to take over his supervision. The girl wasn’t too thrilled with the news because she had just figured out how the system worked. There was a new challenge in the form of a freshman who needed to be taught everything. So Michelle was initially skeptical about it. Her attitude towards this young man was further aggravated by the fact that everyone in the company admired him for some inexplicable reason. The university professor claimed that he had a special gift, and some of the secretaries talked about his attractive appearance. When Michelle saw his photo, she wasn’t interested in him. She even remembers seeing an ordinary guy with a wide smile who resembled a nerd.
Barack also didn’t make a good first impression on the girl. Why? It was because he was late for his first day at the internship. Despite this, they had to work together most of the time and Michelle’s heart began to melt.
After their first shared meal, Michelle was impressed. She recalls being struck by his confidence in what he did and how he had planned his life’s path. He was quite candid in his thoughts, and this added to his elegance. After that, they quickly found a common language, but the girl continued to perceive Barack as a brother who understood her. She didn’t consider him as a boyfriend at all.
The first spark
While working together, one day Barack approached Michelle and suggested spending at least an hour together. Michelle agreed, although she strongly denied the change in their relationship status. But a spark was lit. On their first date, the guy invited Michelle to the theater to see a wonderful performance of Les Miserables. They ran away from the theater without staying until the end. This was followed by their first joint barbecue, ice cream walks and, of course, their first kiss. It was the kiss that decided everything between the two of them.
When they met, Michelle’s family warmly welcomed Barack. However, her father didn’t give him many chances. One day he said that Barack was a great guy, but it was a pity that he wouldn’t stay long.
A special man for Michelle
Michelle finally fell in love, not with Barak’s appearance, but with his attitude towards life. He was not interested in material possessions. At a time when most young people wanted to get a high-paying job or join a company with good career prospects, Barack read philosophers and studied history. He would often read late into the night and was deeply passionate about the news, especially the news that concerned most people. However, even this was not his unique feature. Michelle recalls that even his thinking was different, distinctive. He could contemplate something for a long time, and when asked by his beloved, he would answer what he thought about income inequality. He was obsessed with global issues and already believed that he could solve all these problems. It wasn’t in vain, as he would later lead a huge country. But more on that later.
Despite his unique qualities, being with him was always fun. Michelle recalls an interesting story from their life that made her realize she would never be bored with him. Once they drove onto a rather busy highway. Barack told Michelle not to look down. Out of curiosity, she still glanced down and saw that he was using his foot to cover a hole almost 10 centimeters in size through which the road was rushing by at high speed.
Wedding, family life and career
In 1992, the much-anticipated event finally came, Barack and Michelle finally got married. In her book, Michelle wrote that she had always valued the institution of marriage, while Barack was rather formal about it. This was because his parents divorced when he was barely 2 years old, and later his father married several more times.
Once, while having dinner in a restaurant, the couple almost quarreled. The topic once again revolved around Barack’s attitude to official marriage. When Michelle was ready to leave, a waiter approached them with a dessert plate covered with a silver lid. Picking it up, Michelle saw a beautiful dark box inside with the long-awaited engagement ring.
In 1995, Barack informed his wife that he planned to run for the Illinois Senate. Michelle wasn’t very pleased with this news, but later admitted that her comments and reaction did not influence her husband’s decision.
In 1998, the couple became parents for the first time. Michelle was already 34 at the time, and Barack was 37. It was a desired pregnancy because they had faced unsuccessful attempts before the birth of their daughter. Michelle had experienced several miscarriages. However, she tries to recall their attempts to become parents with humor, as pregnancy, at least the attempts, did not always coincide with hormonal surges but rather followed the schedule of the state of Illinois. Their first daughter was born through in vitro fertilization (IVF), and in 2011, their second daughter was born, also with the help of IVF.
After the birth of their first daughter, the couple had to find a balance between work and family. Michelle started working at the University of Chicago when her daughter was 4 months old. Torn between work and child, Michelle felt that she wasn’t performing at her full capacity while Barack’s career was rapidly advancing. Despite the constant conflicts and quarrels that could have led to divorce, the couple managed to overcome this trial. They even turned to a psychotherapist for help.
When Barack announced that he wanted to run for president, Michelle was against it. She had hoped that her husband would temporarily set aside his political ambitions and devote some time to the family. However, the presidency didn’t prevent Barack from being a great father and husband. Almost every night, the family tried to have dinner together, except when Barack was away on business trips.
Public life
Michelle entered American political history not only as a strong woman who made fashion a genuinely important element of diplomacy but also as a very candid and straightforward First Lady. Once, an American publication asked her what kind of First Lady she would be, to which Michelle responded without hesitation that she didn’t know because she hadn’t been there yet.
Barack Obama said of her that she never asked to be the first lady. But like the wives of other government officials, she had to play this role. She coped with this task perfectly! Moreover, she made a huge contribution to the work. Barack often emphasizes that this gorgeous, wise and generous woman became his wife for some unknown reason, and he is very grateful to her for that.
People see her as a caring mother, a sincere friend and a person who is not afraid to sacrifice herself for others. That’s why people are drawn to her.