Before Michelle and Barack Obama became America’s favorite power couple, Michelle’s older brother, Craig Robinson, had his doubts. Read more about what he shared on the latest episode of their podcast.
On the latest episode of IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, Craig opened up about meeting Barack for the first time. He shared his very first impression of the man who would eventually become President of the United States.
“Mich starts to date Barack, and we don’t know who this guy is. We’re just like, ‘Barack? Who’s got a name like Barack?’” he joked. “And I’m thinking to myself, it’s gonna last like about a month like most of your relationships did.”
Michelle, 61, didn’t let that slide. “That’s not true,” she fired back. “I had many a long-term boyfriend.” But her big brother wasn’t buying it, and even recalled their mother’s reaction to Barack’s height, saying, “At least he’s tall.”
Despite his early skepticism, Craig admitted he put Barack through a test on the basketball court. Their father once told him you could tell a lot about a man by how he played pickup basketball.
“Aside from the fact that he’s left-handed so he couldn’t go right at all,” Craig said, “most importantly, he was a team player. He fit in with the people. So I was able to report back to you, everything was fine. And the rest was history.”
Michelle and Barack tied the knot in 1992 and have been married for 32 years, raising daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23. Though he’s long retired from pickup games (after needing 30 stitches from a White House game), Barack still keeps the romance alive. This past Valentine’s Day, he posted, “Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away.”
Michelle recently addressed public speculation about her marriage, explaining that her independent choices have been misunderstood. “People couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself,” she told Sophia Bush on the Work in Progress podcast. “That they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing. But that’s what society does to us.”
From doubtful beginnings to decades of love, Barack and Michelle’s love story is still unfolding—despite the haters, skeptics, or even family teasing.
Check out IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson here.