It all began in 1989, when Michelle Robinson was an associate at Sidley & Austin–the sixth-largest corporate law firm based in the United States. Michelle had just completed her first year in the firm as an intern when the buzz started. The word around the office was that there was a promising first-year law student who was—at the time—enrolled at Harvard, who would be joining the firm.1 Even though the office was buzzing with this hot news, Michelle kept in mind that first-year law students hardly ever get this type of opportunity, considering the size and degree of the firm. So she assumed he was some sort of super geeky nerd. She also assumed, because of their similarities—such as the law school they attended, and their alike characteristic of being a minority—that they would be paired to work together, with Michelle as his adviser.2
courtyard at Princeton University | Courtesy
of The Princeton Weekly Bulletin
When Michelle first heard about Barack, she said she “probably did what a lot of people do when they hear about Barack Obama.”3 She explained that she had been taken back by the name, unique in its entirety, and she wondered where he was from. As she read more into his biography, she learned a lot about him, including the fact that he grew up in Hawaii, and that he was biracial.
Barack was in fact placed under her wing a few days later, and Michelle took him out to lunch on his first day as a way to establish a professional relationship.4 Little did anybody know that one day they would be much more than just co-workers. Since she had already made the assumption that he was a weird nerd, Michelle was prepared for a geek to walk through the door. However, what happened was her future husband walked through the door, and out to lunch they went.
Even though the lunch outing on Barack’s first day at the firm went extremely well, and she was completely intrigued by his humorous, down-to-earth personality, one couldn’t smell the romance beginning just yet because Michelle was not open to dating anyone at this stage in her life.5
Even though she was positively surprised by the much cuter man that walked in—not the nerd she expected—and completely intrigued by him at their lunch outing, she knew she needed to be focused solely on her career.6 Besides the fact that they were co-workers, she was his adviser, and Michelle took that very seriously. Since she knew it would be wrong to pursue anything romantically in the office, she settled for a mere friendship with Barack.
But Barack wanted more than that. He insisted time after time on her letting him take her out on a date, and she told him, time and time again, no—because it wouldn’t be right. Barack’s persistence eventually led Michelle to agree on going out with him, under the circumstances that it would not be called a date.7
of Michelle Obama’s Instagram [@michelleobama]
After the negotiated “non-date” that anyone else in the world would consider a date—including them at the end of it—Michelle was completely head over heels for this man. And well, the rest is history—literally.9
- “How Michelle met Barack Obama,” YouTube, January 30, 2009. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxrkOxnGjw. ↵
- “How Michelle met Barack Obama,” YouTube, January 30, 2009. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxrkOxnGjw. ↵
- “How Michelle met Barack Obama,” YouTube, January 30, 2009. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxrkOxnGjw. ↵
- “Michelle Obama,” Biography.com, November 08, 2017. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.biography.com/people/michelle-obama-307592. ↵
- Liza Mundy, “When Michelle Met Barack,” The Washington Post, October 5, 2008. Accessed November 20, 2017. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/03/ST2008100302144.html. ↵
- Liza Mundy, “When Michelle Met Barack,” The Washington Post, October 5, 2008. Accessed November 20, 2017. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/03/ST2008100302144.html. ↵
- Peter B. Slevin, Michelle Obama (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015), 126. ↵
- “How Michelle met Barack Obama,” YouTube, January 30, 2009. Accessed November 20, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exxrkOxnGjw. ↵
- Liza Mundy, “When Michelle Met Barack,” The Washington Post, October 5, 2008. Accessed November 20, 2017. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/03/ST2008100302144.html. ↵
88 comments
Natalia Flores
Even though this article was fairly short, it was quite detailed. I love the theme that the author and technically Michelle Obama pushed which was don’t judge people based on their resumes and back grounds. I find it super cute that he really wanted a relationship with her and while she was more career driven and that they had a full discussion on whether or not to call their outing a date. It really makes you think that you never know when or who will completely change your life.
Anna Guaderrama
I don’t believe in love, but I absolutely loved reading this article, it was so cute It reminded me of something you would see in a movie. I’ve always loved the Obama’s so it was great reading about how they met. I never knew how they met or that they met at the same law firm but it was great to learn about it. It’s interesting to see how Michelle was his adviser when they first met and how they support each other in everything. I’ve never seen two people more in love.
Cristina Cabello
This is a cute little article about their love story. I really like how it is set on Michelle’s perspective. Most movies or love stories are based off of people taking risks. Or thinking that now is not the right time to date. I really like knowing that this is the kind of story that they had. Despite the fact that they became famous, they had a genuine love story.
Iris Henderson
This article shines light on the former POTUS and FLOTUS in a light hearted way and I really enjoyed that. Learning about Michelle having to balance career and social life was pretty neat as well. Barack pursued Michelle relentlessly untill she caved and allowed him to take her on an unofficial date. I also thought it was adorable that she was his supervisor and then later he became President, without a doubt with Michelle’s help.
Yahaira Martinez
I love this article for the extraordinary job it does in explaining perhaps one of the most amazing and inspiring love stories. Though the Obama’s love story is simple it is such an amazing story because it led to one of the most influential couples to be, and to lead the country. this little insight to their lives is the most inspiring because it could happen to anybody and for this iconic couple to have made it all the way to the white house then anything is possible.
Isaac Rodriguez
This article taught me more about the origins of Barack and Michelle Obama’s relationship. I enjoyed reading about what Michelle thought about Barack, and what he thought of her. It was refreshing to see an article that didn’t focus on Obamas politics, but his relationship with Former First Lady Michelle Obama. I found this article to be uplifting, and different than what is normally reported in the news or media.
Destiny Leonard
The article was a very interesting read in the sense that in a way it shows the humanity of Michelle and Barack Obama. It’s easy to see that the connection these two have is one that will last a lifetime yet it’s almost somewhat surprising to think of these two successful people as at one point in time being students and just starting out their lives as many of us here at saint mary’s are doing today. Overall well done!
Elias Garza
You never know when the person you are going to marry is going to enter your life, just as Michelle did not know at the time. Barak Obama showed great persistence as Michelle kept rejecting his offers. Personally, I am glad she gave Obama a chance because I loved seeing them together in office. Also, this article implies not to judge a book by their cover. Michelle assumed Obama was “geeky” but soon realized what a great man he actual is.
Reese Lujan
We all know of the success and the magnificent love that Michelle and Barack Obama have together. Yet, who would have known the obstacles Barack went through to get Michelle to finally even consider being with him. This article was very beautiful and helped me see how the legendary icon duo became to be, what a beautiful love story to tell and to be informed of.
Caroline Bush
This article did a great job explaining how one of Americas most well known couples first met and fell in love. I think its adorable how Michelle had her own idea about what kind of man president Obama would be before she even met him. Its also interesting to hear how Michelle didn’t immediately let President Obama take her out but instead made him work to gain her affection. They have a really adorable love story and its great that they are still together today.