Michelle Obama isn’t afraid to call out her husband’s habits — even if that husband happens to be former President Barack Obama. On the latest episode of her podcast “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson,” the former first lady revealed the one quirk of the 44th president that annoys her so much it makes her want to “smack” him “upside the head.” Turns out, even a man who once ran the country can still drive his wife up the wall.
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During Monday’s episode, which featured famous psychoanalyst and Showtime’s “Couples Therapy” star Dr. Orna Guralnik, Michelle detailed what it’s like to have an empty nest now that their daughters, Sasha, 24, and Malia, 27, are out living their lives in another city. According to her, the silence is noticeable, to say the least.
“We always have the kids to talk about, but not on a day-to-day basis,” Michelle stated. “And we’ve noticed how much of our time we’ve spent talking about them, right? So now that we’re empty-nesters, it’s like, ‘Well, what are we going to talk about?’”
Michelle admitted that since they’re together “all day,” she’s not big on small talk. As she put it, if they chat now, what will they have left to say later when they’re actually together? “It’s like, ‘Oh, don’t tell me until dinner,” she said of connecting with Barack in passing. “Because we have to have something to talk about during dinner.”
When Dr. Guralnik asked about what’s really on her mind when they sit together, Michelle didn’t go sentimental — she kept it a little too real.
“Because how many times does somebody ask, ‘What are you thinking about?’ And you’re like, ‘Well, let me make up a thing,’” Michelle said, adding, “Because I don’t actually want to tell you what I was thinking about, which is like, ‘The way you’re chewing makes me want to smack you upside the head.’”
“Why does your chewing annoy me so much? Let’s discuss,” she jokingly added. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’d bring that up.”
And according to her, it’s not only her pet peeve. Their daughters share the same feelings toward his alleged noisy chewing. “The girls and I are very irritated with the way Barack chews,” she expressed.
Mind you, a study was done that showed evidence that folks who hate particular sounds — like chewing for example — may have a higher level of intelligence, per Psychology Today. But we digress.
As we previously reported, Barack and Michelle went on record debunking claims that they were headed towards divorce. When Michelle’s brother Craig joked that it’s good to have them in the same room together, Michelle replied, “I know, cause when we aren’t folks think we’re divorced!”
“There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man,” the former first lady clarified. “And we’ve had some really hard times, a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I’ve become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
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