Anyone who’s ever been married or even had a serious relationship can tell you that it’s not all roses and butterflies. There are times when it all hardly seems worth it. I mean, let’s face it, the melding of two lives into one, yet still maintaining separate personalities and all that, can be extremely stressful.
Then there are the added stresses of school, building a career, raising babies, and yet still having time for both each other and yourself. And that’s just in your typical marriage.
The complications are even more tenuous when one or both individuals have found themselves under the microscope of either the limelight or public service, as you can imagine. After all, there is a reason that most celebrity marriages or relationships don’t last.
For those that do, there is certainly something to be said, something that speaks of persistence, sacrifice, and what most would call a genuine love for the other person. Then again, perhaps it’s all done to simply maintain the appearance of a happy, healthy relationship that others should aspire to have.
The latter seems to be the case for the Obamas, or at least that can be derived from a few more recent comments from Michelle Obama during a December interview with Revolt (the Gen Z version of MTV created by Sean “Diddy” Combs).
Yes, that’s right, the darlings of the political left haven’t had it all together after all.
Now, as I already mentioned, marriage can be tough, particularly when it’s placed in the most stressful and taxing office in the world.
However, what Michelle admitted is a bit more than saying they had a few tough years. In fact, according to her, a full two-thirds of their entire marriage has been miserable for her.
The comments came as Michelle spoke to a panel of five other celebrity women. Naturally, the topic of marriage came up. Michelle noted that for her, communication was a huge part of making a marriage successful. And as most of us have noted, those that don’t do this well often end up in a failing relationship.
However, that doesn’t mean that it has to end.
She remarked that far too many couples, when faced with problems, simply give up or give up way too quickly. And she’s right, for the most part. There was a time when it hardly mattered what you were going through, as a couple, as an individual; you just didn’t split up.
But as we all know, today is a much different story for most, even, as Michelle noted, when “you are madly in love with the person.”
For herself, she said that she understands the frustration of marriage completely, particularly when her girls were young. But then she admits something a bit more than having a rough go of it for a few days, weeks, or even months.
She said, “People think I’m being catty by saying this. There were ten years when I couldn’t stand my husband.”
Wait… 10 years? That’s a long time to be angry with someone, to hold a grudge, or just not be happy.
And I would say it’s probably not all that healthy for anyone involved, including the children. And as I mentioned above, Michelle noted that this time period did, in fact, take place when her children were young and impressionable.
For her, she says that the stresses of building her career (because she had to have one of equal or greater value than her husband’s), combined with motherhood, were nearly too much for her. “Little kids, they’re terrorists. They are. They have demands; they don’t talk; they’re poor communicators; they cry all the time; they’re irrational; they’re needy, and you love them more than anything.”
Well, it’s a good thing she added that last bit about love. I was starting to think she hated kids and being a mother.
Now, I’m not saying it’s easy. As a wife and mother myself, I can attest to the tribulations of even an average life. I’m just not sure that I would ever compare my kids to terrorists or say that I was unhappy with their father for so long.
Would you?
