"I Was Like...": Michelle Obama Says Husband Barack Joked "You're Next Up" After Her Mother's Death

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently revealed the surprising comment that her husband, former US President Barack Obama, made when she lost her mother in 2024. During a conversation with her brother Craig Robinson on the 'IMO Podcast', she recalled a conversation she had with Barack Obama following the demise of her mother, Marian Robinson. She revealed that "Barack was saying, you know, 'Well, you're next up'" shortly after her mother's death.

"I was like, 'I'm not really ready to be next up,'" she explained, adding, "I told him, 'You're next up and Craig is next up.' I delegate that power to you."

Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, died in May 2024 at the age of 86. During the podcast, the two siblings reflected on the impact their mother's death had on them. The duo shared that their mother had been "preparing" them for when she would no longer be alive. 

"The listeners should know that mom's been threatening to drop dead for 20 years," Craig Robinson said, adding, "She has been preparing us for this. So, she left very direct instructions on what she wanted and how she wanted things to be. We had to take that into account."

Further, the pair, who lost their father in 1991, spoke at length about their parents, noting that they both left  "big shoes to fill" after their respective deaths. "It's a major shift in your life. I don't care how old you get. Mom and Dad are Mom and Dad," the former first lady said. 

"Even when I was taking care of Mom, I still gotta listen to her. I can sort of boss her around but in the end, she's my mother. There's a comfort level in that, knowing that no matter how wise or experienced I am in the world, mom always knew more," she added. 

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Meanwhile, in a separate podcast with Jay Shetty earlier this month, Michelle Obama shared that she is seeking therapy to navigate the "next phase of her life". With her daughters grown, her public service work concluded, and her focus now on herself for the first time in years, she emphasised the importance of therapy in navigating this personal shift.

"At this phase of my life, I'm in therapy right now because I'm transitioning, you know? I'm 60 years old, I finished a really hard thing in life with my family intact. I'm an empty nester. You know my girls are in - they've been launched. And now for the first time, as I've said before, every choice I'm making is completely mine," she said in an interview with the Jay Shetty Podcast.