Former First Lady Michelle Obama sat down with podcast host Alex Cooper on the January 21, 2026, episode of “Call Her Daddy” for a wide-ranging conversation.
“Let’s be more honest about the struggle,” Obama told Alex Cooper on Wednesday’s episode of “Call Her Daddy.” “I am constantly telling young mothers it’s coming. You don’t have to get off your career track. And I don’t even recommend it.”
The former first lady said that children grow up quickly and are soon out on their own. She remarked that parents give up so much, yet when the children move on, they simply go, shutting the door behind them as if those sacrifices never happened.
Michelle said that she loves their daughters more than anything in the world, more than life itself, and acknowledged that this might not be what some people expect from someone with her Ivy League–educated, lawyerly background. But, she emphasized, it is genuinely who she is. For her, being “Mom‑in‑Chief” is, and will always remain, her number‑one job.
She returned to this message repeatedly throughout the Obama administration — in interviews, speeches, and official White House communications. The “Mom‑in‑Chief” identity wasn’t a label created by the press; it was one she intentionally chose for herself.
In 2007, as Barack Obama began his run for president, Michelle scaled back her workload by about 80 percent. At the time, she was serving as the vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center, a role that paid her nearly $300,000 annually. By 2009, she had a dedicated staff, institutional backing, and the full support and resources of the White House.
The Obama campaign website in 2008 highlighted what mattered most to her: When asked to describe herself, Michelle Obama didn’t pause—her top identity, she said, was being Malia and Sasha’s mother.
Malia is 27 now, and Sasha is 24. They both reside in Los Angeles, where they are each pursuing their own careers.
Michelle talked about her “two beautiful daughters” and admitted that it’s easy to slip into asking them, “Are you dating anyone?” She noted that she tries to avoid making that the first question, the second question, or even a question at all.
She explained to Cooper that such a question is often what people ask only after they “run out of stuff to say to a young girl,” adding that it may actually reflect mothers’ own insecurities.
On “Call Her Daddy,” Obama did not talk about how her new advice fits with her previous comments. She framed the discussion as honest guidance for a new generation of mothers.
“There is time,” she said. “But we have to give ourselves a lot more grace in the process.”