Michelle Obama on spending time with daughters Sasha and Malia: ‘Being with them as adults, it’s fun'

Sasha and Malia Obama have officially left the nest, and mom Michelle opened up about spending time with her “amazing young women” on Tuesday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Malia, 23, graduated from Harvard in 2021, while 20-year-old Sasha started at the University of Michigan in 2019, and the empty-nester is incredibly proud of the young women her daughters have become.

“Sasha is in college and they’re doing well. They are just amazing young women,” she told Ellen.

The girls got to spend a little extra time with their parents during quarantine, and Obama jokingly exclaimed “bye” before reflecting fondly on the time she was able to spend with them.

“It was an extra-special treat to have them that little bit of time, because being with them as adults, it’s fun. I love them at every age,” she said.

Ellen and Michelle also reminisced about the Obama’s 2002 trip to the Ellen show, when Malia and Sasha were 8 and 10, to see the Jonas Brothers.

“Now they’re bringing grown men home,” Obama said.

She also expressed how important it was to her to make sure the girls were well-adjusted and able to acclimate to life outside of the afforded comforts of the White House.

“They wouldn’t always be in that bubble of the White House, so they had to learn to make their beds, they had to learn how to drive, they had to learn how to be compassionate, independent, responsible people," she said. "So that they entered the world as responsible, compassionate, capable people, and I think they are amazing young women because of that.”

The mom of two expressed how she utilized her own mother's advice on raising future adults.

"I listened to what my mother said when she was raising us, she said, 'I’m not raising babies, I’m raising real people to be out in the world,' and I kept that in mind with the girls."

Michelle and Barack are also celebrating 30 years of marriage, and the Becoming author playfully joked about her long history with the former president.

“I’ve known him for a long time, that guy," she said. "He’s been around, hanging out.”

She jokingly remarked that her husband becoming the POTUS was a “hassle” that helped them bond.

“That was a thing," she said, "but it brought us closer and it gave us an opportunity outside of ourselves to serve our country."

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