It can be difficult to view people like former President of the United States and former first lady Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as normal people who lived lives before they were the face of the United States of America for 8 full years.
But Michelle Obama has recently been opening up and letting people into she and her husband's world more than ever before.
In an at-home interview with PEOPLE, Michelle opened up about the time the couple sought help from a marriage counselor. And I give her some serious props for allowing the world see a bit more inside their personal relationship.
In the interview, Michelle talks about how she feels it's important that she and Barack, as role models, be honest about the struggles they have had.
“Because we’re role models, it’s important for us to be honest and say, if you’re in a marriage and there are times you want to leave, that’s normal — because I felt that way."
She continued by sharing a story about her mom, and how she used to talk about leaving her dad.
“My mother would talk about leaving my father in the spring, when she’d do spring cleaning."
But on if she ever truly considered leaving her own marriage, she shut that down. "There were definitely times when I wished things were different, but I don’t think I ever thought, ‘I’m just checking out of this.’"
The PEOPLE interview was released just ahead of Michelle's book, Becoming, which is officially released tomorrow. While promoting the book Michelle has revealed that she suffered a miscarriage while trying to get pregnant and that she and Barack struggled in their relationship while trying to get pregnant and also after having their two daughters, Malia, 20, and Sasha, 17.
While discussing all of these things, Michelle revealed that she and Barack had absolutely been to counseling for their relationship: “Marriage counseling, for us, was one of those ways where we learned to talk out our differences."
And look, if Michelle and Barack Obama can be open about their decision to seek marriage counseling during the difficult times, I think we all could take a page from their book (no pun intended.)
Thank you for always being open, Michelle. I know it can be hard to do.
Get more from Sisanie here!
Photo: Getty Images