When Barack Obama and Michelle Obama first crossed paths in Chicago back in 1988, there were no instant sparks between them, but the issue wasn’t their age difference. Contrary to popular belief, their relationship didn’t start out like a fairytale love story — in fact, quite the opposite. Michelle definitely wasn’t impressed when she first met Barack while working as a corporate attorney at the law firm Sidley & Austin. At 25, she was tasked with mentoring 28-year-old summer associate Barry, who had just finished his freshman year in law school. “Because I went to Harvard and he went to Harvard … the firm thought, ‘Oh, we’ll hook these two people up,'” Michelle told ABC News in 2008. She might have been slightly intrigued, but there was no chance she would ever go out with him — or so she thought. “I thought no way,” she recalled. “This is completely tacky.”

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For his part, Barack was immediately “struck by how tall and beautiful” his future wife was, according to his essay for Oprah Magazine. Only, Michelle kept turning down his advances due to their working relationship — until she finally relented and agreed to go on a date with him. Even their peers at Sidley thought they made a perfect match despite the age difference. “They have so much in common,” said former Sidley partner Newton N. Minow in a chat with Today. “She was his intellectual equal.” Michelle herself was surprised by this revelation. She talked about their commonalities in her 2008 Democratic National Convention speech, saying she and Barack share plenty of values. “You work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect,” she enumerated, according to NPR.

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Whether it’s their ages or their shared values or both that make their relationship work, Barack and Michelle Obama are definitely #CoupleGoals. In 2025, amid speculation that they were going through a rough patch in their marriage and were headed for divorce, Barack honored his wife with a sweet tribute post on her 61st birthday. Sharing a snap of them together on his Instagram page, the former president wrote, “You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you.” 

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Michelle also gave her husband a sweet shoutout when he turned 63 in August 2024. “Happy birthday to the love of my life, @BarackObama! Here’s to weathering all of life’s storms and moving mountains together,” she wrote. Over the years, the Obamas have opened up about their lasting marriage and how they’ve managed to overcome obstacles as a couple.

Appearing on “The Oprah Show” in 2011, during Barack’s second presidential campaign, Michelle shared the key to their strong relationship. “It has to be a true partnership, and you have to really, really like and respect the person that you’re married to because it’s a hard road,” warned the then-first lady. They’d been married for 18 years by that point and were raising two wonderful daughters, Malia Obama and Sasha Obama. As for Barack, he’s insisted that marrying Michelle has been the best thing that’s ever happened to him. As he told his wife on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2016, “I’ve made a lot of great decisions as president; the best decision I’ve ever made was choosing you.”

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