The former First Lady did, however, express that she’s proud of the growth of her daughters, Malia and Sasha.
ByJaelani Turner-Williams
August 29, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Michelle Obama joked that she doesn’t miss daughters Malia and Sasha at home, saying she loves their independence and no longer spends Friday nights worrying about them.
- On the IMO Podcast, she told Jon Stewart that she doesn’t miss hands-on motherhood and now enjoys having a schedule that is entirely her own.
- Barack Obama cried when the sisters left for college; Malia graduated from Harvard in 2021, while Sasha earned a psychology degree from USC in 2023.
Michelle Obama said she feels free now that her daughters, shared with husband Barack Obama, have left the nest.
In the latest episode of the IMO Podcast, the former First Lady shared that she was planning to see her daughters, Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25, for dinner that evening, and revealed that her husband of 34 years “cried” when Malia and Sasha left for college. As for Mrs. Obama, she sent her daughters off with a jokingly dismissive “goodbye.”
“I don’t miss ’em,” Mrs. Obama confessed with a laugh around the 1:06:00 mark of the clip below. “Now Friday nights aren’t wrecked with terror and fear about, ‘Where are you?’ … I love their emancipation and growth.”
When guest Jon Stewart asked if she missed the “job” of hands-on motherhood, Mrs. Obama said she was “good,” adding: “I love my schedule. I have a great schedule, and it’s all mine.” Adding that she’s had “so much time” with her children, she said: “I know them inside and out.”
While Malia graduated Harvard University in 2021 with a degree in visual and environmental studies, Sasha earned a bachelors degree in psychology two years later at University of Southern California. The 25-year-old briefly attended the University of Michigan before transferring.
Last August, Mrs. Obama revealed on IMO that her husband found Sasha to be “difficul” to raise, while Malia was considerably a “pleaser” as the oldest child.
