Former first lady Michelle Obama offered an unusually blunt take on empty-nest life during a recent episode of her podcast IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. While speaking with longtime Daily Show host Jon Stewart and her brother, Obama stated that it was refreshing after Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25, still lived under her roof.
Stewart, himself an empty nester, described the comfort of being “just the two of you” again with a spouse after the kids depart, while also missing “the energy and excitement of the kids being around.” Obama’s reply was immediate and dismissive. “I don’t miss em’,” she said.
She quickly added, “I don’t. I love them. I’m going to see them tonight for dinner. I love them.” The former first lady, 62, then contrasted her reaction with her husband’s when the girls left for college. “Barack cried when they went to college and I was like, ‘Bye, goodbye.”
She elaborated on the practical relief that followed. “Now, Friday nights aren’t wrecked with terror and fear about, ‘Where are you, where are you?’” Obama said.
Stewart then pressed the conversation further, stating that the daily “job” of parenting had given his own life “meaning and a pattern.” Obama shook her head. “I’m good,” she said, gesturing toward the podcast studio. “Look at all this meaning I have.”
She continued, “I have a wonderful pattern. I love my schedule; I have a great schedule and it’s all mine.” Later she claimed that fathers sometimes feel the absence more sharply: “I think fathers can be that way because you weren’t there from 6:00 to 9:00 at night, you missed a lot of it.”
Just another example of liberal women bashing motherhood…
Michelle Obama: “I don’t miss them…Barack cried when they went to college. I was like, BYE!” pic.twitter.com/gZjve0FZuO
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 28, 2026
Malia and Sasha have largely stayed out of the public eye since leaving the White House. They previously shared an apartment in Los Angeles and were last seen with their parents at the June 2026 opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. Obama has said she remains close to both daughters and still sees them regularly.
