Michelle Obama Calls Out Husband Barack's Habit That Leaves Her 'Very Irritated'

The 61-year-old former first lady of the U.S. revealed a lighthearted marital pet peeve during a candid podcast chat on long-term relationship dynamics.

It was meant to be just another candid podcast chat — but Michelle Obama didn't hold back when it came to revealing what really gets under her skin about her husband of more than three decades, former U.S. President Barack Obama.

In the latest episode of "In My Opinion" (IMO), on October 1, 2025, Michelle and her brother, Craig Robinson, welcomed Dr. Orna Guralnik, the renowned clinical psychologist from Showtime's "Couples Therapy," for a frank conversation about the small irritations that creep into long-term relationships.

The episode, produced by the Obamas' High Ground Productions, took a reflective turn when a listener's question about boredom and disconnection in marriage led to an unexpected moment of raw honesty — and relatable comedy.

Guralnik introduced the idea of emotional "edges," those subtle, often unspoken irritants that can reveal hidden truths when partners dare to voice them.

"Are you curious about your partner's edge or where they're at? Like, what are you thinking about? You know, a penny for your thought, like what are you thinking about? she asked Michelle.

Michelle jumped in with a quip. "Because I don't actually want to tell you what I was thinking about, which is like, 'The way you're chewing makes me want to smack you upside the head,'" she said.

Guralnik immediately recognized the statement's deeper relevance. "That would be an edge," she replied. "And that would be really interesting. You could like open something up there in a big way."

Michelle continued with an example, "Why does your chewing annoy me so much? Let's discuss." She noted that it wasn't something she would normally say aloud, but acknowledged it as a clear example of an emotional edge.

Guralnik went on to explain how even seemingly harmless habits, such as chewing, can become triggers. She noted how certain sounds can evoke strong emotional responses, sometimes due to a psychological condition known as misophonia.

Chewing, in particular, might reflect a partner's "otherness," their physical presence and all its messy realities, which can become unexpectedly grating.

That's when Michelle admitted, "The girls and I are very irritated with the way Barack chews." She didn't stop there. With genuine curiosity, she asked, "But why does it annoy us? Is that a statement of something deeper?"

Her brother Craig, ever the joker, chimed in with a cheeky twist: "And if it doesn't annoy you, is that a statement of something deeper?" Guralnik replied, "No." Chris responded, "That's not fair." The conversation concluded with laughter.

That candid moment about Barack's chewing led into a deeper reflection on how their relationship began — one that took root long before the White House.

On the August 6 episode of "IMO", Michelle shared how she first met Barack in the summer of 1989. She admitted she was skeptical of the buzz surrounding him, found his background a bit puzzling, and wasn't drawn to his photo, but said his voice on the phone took her by surprise.

In the latest installment of their podcast, Michelle and her brother Craig talked about modern dating — how the excitement can fade and why slow burn lasts longer. A few minutes in, Craig asked what happened when Michelle first met the man who would become her husband — and later, the 44th President of the United States.

Michelle said she was a first-year associate at a law firm in Chicago. Barack was older than her, but he had taken time off before law school and had just finished his first year at Harvard.

During the summer, law students usually intern at big-name firms, and Michelle had been placed on the Harvard recruiting team.

"I knew of him. This Barack Obama, and everybody was abuzz about him," the former first lady said. "All the partners on the Harvard recruiting team were talking about this hotshot first-year Harvard Law student who was brilliant."

But Michelle wasn't impressed — not by Barack's profile, his name, or the fact that he'd grown up in Hawaii. She even thought he might be "weird" because he seemed like "a nerd." Still, he was assigned to be her advisee, so she had to set up a phone call — and that’s when everything started to change.

"The first kind of sparky feeling I felt actually was when I talked to him on the phone," Michelle confessed. "He had his Barack Obama voice. He's like, 'Hello.' The voice was sexier than the image that I had about him. So I was sort of like, 'Ooh, I didn't expect this.' And he was older, so he was self-assured."

Michelle said the phone call went really well, but she still didn’t feel a real spark — all she had seen was a profile picture, which she said wasn't "great."

Then came his first day at the law firm, and he was late. Whatever small spark she might've felt had already fizzled. But that quickly shifted when she walked into the reception hall and saw him waiting.

"He stands up. He is tall, right? And he's cute," she said. "He was much cuter than his picture. The picture didn't do him justice. I was pleasantly surprised that he was attractive. He stood up, and he was kind of cool in a way that I didn't expect."

But Barack didn't seem fazed by being late. He just apologized, explaining that it had been raining and the buses were delayed. For Michelle, that calm confidence only made him seem even more appealing.

Once the introductions were out of the way, Michelle helped Barack settle in on his first day and took him out for lunch. Their conversation went on longer than expected — it felt easy, natural, and engaging. Michelle later described it as having a "hint of a spark," and that's when she started to see just how confident, mature, and funny he really was.

The issue was that the future first lady had written him off already because of her position. "I told myself it would be completely inappropriate for me to date this dude that I'm advising," she continued. "It would be tacky and it would be expected. So I kind of talked myself out of it."

At the time, Michelle had made it clear to her mother that dating wasn't on the agenda. She explained that she'd always had a boyfriend and just wanted some space to be independent.

But despite her plans, she couldn’t help herself. She talked about Barack to her friends, praised him, and eventually even introduced him to them. That summer, the two grew close, forming a genuine friendship built on shared interests and like-minded views.

During a firm outing to see "Les Misérables," Barack leaned over and asked if they could leave because they were both bored. In that moment, Michelle saw him as a bit of a rule breaker, and despite her hesitation, they ended up going out for drinks. That's when she finally realized she liked him.

Later, when Craig asked if she was feeling any sparks by then, Michelle concluded that what was happening between them was a "slow burn."

With their friendship already strong, Barack started asking Michelle out — but she kept turning him down. She still thought dating him would be "tacky," especially since she was his adviser. But Barack didn't care what anyone thought, not even the law firm. He was clear about how he felt.

Finally, he convinced her to go out on a real date. "He wanted it to be a date, which was also kind of sexy, y'all, because he wasn't trying to pretend. He was clear, he's like, 'I like you, you're funny, you are cute. We should go on a proper date,'" she said, and eventually, she agreed.

The rest is history. Michelle and Barack tied the knot in 1992, when she walked down the aisle at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Not long after, their family grew with the arrival of their two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

This isn’t the first time Michelle Obama has opened up about Barack on the podcast. He even joined her as a guest in an episode back in mid-July. At the top of the show, Michelle made it clear — she's never thought about walking away from their marriage, not even during the tough moments.

Additionally, she said that being with Barack made her a better person. A clip of that moment was uploaded on her personal Instagram with the caption, "I've said this before, but it's worth re-iterating today, my home is my family. My home is Barack."

Michelle has also shared glimpses of their life together on social media. On August 4, she marked Barack's birthday with a sweet Instagram post — a photo of the two hugging in front of a fireplace.

The caption read, "Happy birthday to my love, my best friend, my everything! @BarackObama, even after all these years, you're still the coolest guy I know. 💕"

A few weeks earlier, Michelle celebrated Sasha’s birthday with a family photo on the same platform. The snapshot showed the Obamas posing together at the beach — a relaxed moment with all four smiling for the camera.