Former first lady Michelle Obama on Thursday urged young couples to be mindful of a long marriage rather than obsessing over the wedding itself. (See the video below.)
CBS’s Gayle King reminded Obama that she has admitted that she has long been unhappy with her husband, former President Barack Obama.
“Yeah, what’s the controversy?” the former first lady said.
“You’re talking too loud,” King replied.
Obama says he’s just keeping it real. “Marriage is difficult, and many young people stop getting married because it’s just part of the commitment.”
“We glamorize marriage,” he continued. “These days, marriage is more about the dress, and the dress, and the proposal, and the honeymoon and all the stuff around it. And young people aren’t ready for real of marriage.”
“It is incumbent on us, people who have successfully married, to be really honest about the fact that making a commitment to be with someone means you compromise – and compromise is not always fun,” he concluded.
He then joked: “And don’t add kids to the mix, because it really ruins your life.”
The Obamas celebrated their 30th birthday last October.
The former first lady, who created the media before “The Light We Carry” – a Netflix special with Oprah Winfrey streaming next week, named after Obama’s new book – offered similar advice in a 2020 interview with Conan O’Brien.
“You have to understand that there will be times – long periods of time – when you can’t stand,” he said.
“There were times when I wanted to push Barack out the window,” he joked. “And I say that, because it’s like that, you have to know that the feelings are going to be strong. But that doesn’t mean you stop.