Michelle Obama reveals struggle to keep daughters' teen years private

Michelle Obama has disclosed how hard it was for her to raise and keep daughters, Malia (26) and Sasha (23), out of the news when they became teenagers while in the Whitehouse.

Speaking to Kelly Ripa during an April 29 appearance on SiriusXM's Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa, she shared that it took extra effort to bring up her daughters normally without the cameras always watching.

"That was a lot of work and it got harder as they got older," the former First Lady of the United States said.

She revealed that when her husband Barack Obama took office in 2008, her daughters were 10 and 7, respectively. Michelle said that she needed to let her daughters embark on new experiences as they grew up but noted that the public’s watchful eye wouldn’t perceive it in that manner.

The former first lady stated that her daughters had to go to parties, make friends, engage in other activities like normal teenagers and at some point, they tried smoking. According to Michelle, her main concern was her daughters being featured on tabloids, yet they were just being teenagers.

"They had to drive and they had to go to prom and they were on teams and they travelled to other schools and they had to do college searches, and they went to parties and they had drinks, and they tried out smoking and they did all the things. Every weekend was a nightmare, because we had to work to make sure that they, being regular teenagers, didn't wind up on Page Six," the 61-year-old recalled.

Highlighting how difficult it was to keep their exploration private, she mentioned that it took "a lot of work" and required them to have “a lot of intentionality " during that time.

Michelle Obama narrated how her daughters were always protected by the Secret Service. Anytime they would visit a friend’s house for a playdate, their house would be scrutinised fully to ensure there were no drugs or guns.

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"When your kids are under the security of the Secret Service, you almost have to work twice as hard to make their life normal," Michelle continued. "Imagine setting up the first play date or the first time the kids get invited to a play date. The process of having my children at your house meant that an advanced team had to come and question and search your house and ask if you had drugs and guns," the “Becoming Michelle” author said.

Now that Malia and Sasha have grown into adults, Michelle’s goal is to ensure they can handle the pressure that comes of being a former president daughter. She termed it as “Obama tax” saying that despite the pressure comes a lot of benefits.

"We call that the Obama tax for them. You’ll have it the rest of your life, but you also have a lot of benefits," she said.

In her words, she stated that she wanted them to grow up normally and to live their lives to the maximum like other young people.

"I'm trying to make this feel normal to them, because you don't want them to start thinking, number one, they're full of themselves, that any of this is about them and that their job is to go about their lives," the former first lady said.

Michelle highlighted that she wanted her daughters to have one specific mindset: "This world is not about you. This is just your dad's job."