Michelle Obama’s Brother Craig Robinson Thought She and Barack Would Last ‘About a Month’

Michelle Obama’s Brother Craig Robinson Thought She and Barack Would Last ‘About a Month’

The couple have been married for 32 years and share daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23

IMO With Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson
Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on their ‘IMO’ podcast. Photo: Michelle Obama/Youtube

  • Michelle Obama’s brother Craig Robinson has revealed that he thought she and her husband Barack Obama would only last “about a month” when they first started dating
  • “Mich starts to date Barack, and we don’t know who this guy is. We’re just like, ‘Barack? Who’s got a name like Barack?’ “ Robinson said on the siblings’ new podcast, IMO
  • The Obamas have now been married for over 32 years and share daughters Malia, 23, and Sasha, 23

Michelle Obama‘s brother Craig Robinson never thought he’d one day be Barack Obama’s brother-in-law.

The older brother of Michelle, 61, has admitted that when he first met the future President of the United States, he didn’t think he was longterm material.

“Mich starts to date Barack, and we don’t know who this guy is. We’re just like, ‘Barack? Who’s got a name like Barack?’ “ Robinson, 62, teased on his and MIchelle’s IMO podcast on April 16. “And I’m thinking to myself, it’s gonna last like about a month like most of your relationships did.”

Michelle disagreed with her brother’s assessment, saying, “That’s not true. I had many a longterm boyfriend.”

But the siblings couldn’t find common ground on the topic of Michelle’s pre-Barack love life.

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
Barack and Michelle Obama.Barack Obama/Instagram

“I remember mom’s first thing was, ‘Ooo at least he’s tall.’ Because Mich was usually posting up her other boyfriends,” Robinson said of the 5’11” future first lady. “And I said to myself, ‘Well, it’s too bad it’s not gonna last.’ “

Robinson also reflected on his father’s piece of advice about men, saying he taught him that you could learn a lot about a person by how they played a game of pickup basketball. So when he took Barack, 63, for a game at Michelle’s request, he paid close attention.

“Obviously we had a great time playing. This is what I learned, aside from the fact that he’s left-handed so he couldn’t go right at all, most importantly, he was a team player,” Robinson said of Barack. “He fit in with the people. So I was able to report back to you, everything was fine and the rest was history.”

The couple tied the knot in October 1992 and share daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23.

Michelle went on to share that her husband stopped playing pickup games during his time in the White House after injuring his lip and requiring stitches.

“Barack put his basketball shoes up once he got his lip busted once he was in the White House playing a pickup game,” she said. “He needed, like, 30-something stitches … He had some major speech, this was probably Saturday. He had some major speech on Monday. I was like, ‘This is what I’m saying. You’re playing like you’re 10, and now your lip is split.’ “

US Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) and his wife Michelle after a swearing in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington DC
Michelle and Barack Obama on Capitol Hill in January 2005.Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty

And while he may no longer play on the court, that doesn’t mean Barack doesn’t have game. For Valentine’s Day this year he shared a sweet tribute to his wife, writing, “Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away. Happy Valentine’s Day, @MichelleObama!”

Michelle recently opened up about how her newfound independence led to scrutiny and speculation that her marriage to Barack was on the rocks.

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