They Drank, They Smoked, They Went to Prom: Michelle Obama Hid Malia and Sasha’s Wild Teen Years from the Headlines — and Says Every Weekend Felt Like a Crisis
It’s tough growing up in the public eye. Especially when you are the former President’s daughters. Luckily for Malia and Sasha Obama, they have a mom who takes her job as their parent seriously.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, who is married to former President Barack Obama, spoke with Kelly Ripa on SiriusXM’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa,” about how difficult it was to protect her girls from the press as they began to grow into their teenage and adult years.
“That was a lot of work and it got harder as they got older,” she explained. She went on to give examples of all the things her daughters experienced as they began to grow up and how maintaining their privacy was no easy task.
“They had to drive and they had to go to prom and they were on teams and they traveled to other schools and they had to do college searches, and they went to parties and they had drinks, and they tried out smoking and they did all the things.”
She added that “every weekend was a nightmare, because we had to work to make sure that them being regular teenagers didn’t wind up on Page Six.”
And this wasn’t the first time she said this about the outlet who has published reports of them being caught smoking, drinking and partying.
In March, she said something similar on the “Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce” podcast. She said, “I wanted to give my girls enough rope to live and be normal teenagers, but I was also worrying about them turning up on Page Six because they were doing what normal kids would do.”
In her conversation with Ripa, Mrs. Obama detailed the abnormalities that come with their children needing to have Secret Service with them.
“When your kids are under the security of the Secret Service, you almost have to work twice as hard to make their life normal. Imagine setting up the first play date or the first time the kids get invited to a play date,” Obama said. “The process of having my children at your house meant that an advanced team had to come and question and search your house and ask if you had drugs and guns.”
Obama says she now tries to keep their daughters prepared for the life-long media scrutiny they will face due to their father’s former job as the 44th president of the United States.
“I’m trying to make this feel normal to them, because you don’t want them to start thinking, number one, they’re full of themselves, that any of this is about them and that their job is to go about their lives.” She added, “This world is not about you. This is just your dad’s job.”
Fans commented under the “Entertainment Tonight” Instagram post of the audio.
One person said, “Oh, so they did what every normal kid does. She had a right to worry, they were young.”
Someone else sympathized with her in the comments as well and they wrote, “Ugh I can imagine. The media is harsh when it comes to kids especially black kids I noticed.”
Another person offered their advice and said, “You’re still going to get criticized, so you might as well do whatever you want.”
The Obamas were residents in the White House for eight years as Barack fulfilled two terms as president. Despite their time in office ending in 2017, the Obamas continue to face rumors from the tabloids. Lately some have been claiming that Barack and Michelle are having marital problems because of instances of public appearances the former president has made without his wife. Michelle has attempted to rebut the rumors by simply stating that she’s taking this time to do what she wants after years of not feeling she can do so. But the rumors still run on.
Barack and Michelle have been married since 1992 and have two daughters, Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23. It appears the two ladies have opted for a more private life as well. They aren’t seen out in the public often and neither of them appear to have social media.