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Hers is one of the most enduring and exemplary marriages in the public eye, so she's well placed to offer advice – and Michelle Obama is cautioning her daughters not to rush into marriage.
The 58-year-old mother to Malia (24) and Sasha (21) advises young women not to tie the knot before they know who they are.
This week in a candid interview on the Tamron Hall Show, the former US first lady highlighted the societal expectations faced by young people today, and said that her daughters are no exception.
READ MORE| Malia Obama has moved on after her breakup and is dating someone nearly a decade older than she is
“Too many young people are rushing to check the box of marriage before they even know who they are, and then they're surprised when they pick the wrong person, or they don't know how to struggle through hard times," she told Tamron Hall.
Michelle married former United States president Barack Obama in 1992 and they recently celebrated their 30th anniversary. The two met in 198 when Michelle was a young associate attorney at a Chicago law firm who had to show Barack the ropes when he joined as an intern.
She emphasised that she'd be fine with it if her daughters chose their careers over babies.
“I want my girls to spend some time with themselves, to develop some skills, to understand that they can make it with or without, that they can build their happiness with all the bells and whistles, and they can be happy if they choose to only focus on their career, to never have kids. I want to make their worlds bigger for them,” said Michelle .
She's currently on tour promoting her latest book, The Light We Carry, in which she unpacks her philosophies on marriage and offer guidance to young people. Michelle urges young women not to be constrained by society.
“Happiness looks like a lot of different things, and we as women are constricted by these narrow definitions of how we can be happy when that's not the truth, right?" she said.
“If we've chosen some alternative path, maybe getting married, maybe not, maybe never having kids, maybe focusing on careers, we feel somehow guilty about all those choices."
She's proud of her daughters. Malia, who's a writer for TV, and Sasha, a junior at the University of Southern California, have left the family home and share an apartment in Los Angeles.
In the book Michelle writes that the siblings have made the apartment their own, "having poked around yard sales and shopped at a nearby Ikea, watching their budget", she writes.
READ MORE| How Sasha and Malia are all grown up and rocking their own paths
The book was released this month and launches in six cities as part of her scheduled book tour.
In a podcast interview she explained that many young people don't understand the work that goes into marriage.
“Many young people give up too quickly."
“I think it’s important for us to be honest in those conversations, not to glamorise what a partnership feels like because then young people quit too soon,” Michelle said. “They quit before they’ve really played out the full scenario.”
Sources: DailyMail; People ; Tamron Hall Show; Hello!; CNBC.com ; GoodMorningAmerica
