'Becoming': Michelle Obama reveals why she 'sobbed for 30 minutes' on her last day at the White House
Former First Lady Michelle Obama, while recalling her last day at the White House, said that she burst into tears of relief after getting away from the White House.
Michelle talked about the pressure of consistently presenting a perfect front to a world, where all the attention was on her and her husband former President Barack Obama.
Michelle recalled how her last day at the White House was overwhelming and "a trip for so many reasons". The night before Donald Trump's inauguration, her daughters Malia and Sasha begged her for a sleepover.
Michelle recalled that their friends wanted to make memories of their last night at the White House, they were especially excited about the breakfast there because you could order just about anything you wanted and it would be whipped up.
However, the next morning Michelle panicked as she tried to wake up the girls, saying: "Come on, wake up! The Trumps are coming. You have to get out."
The former first lady recalled how there was a somber mood in the White House and everyone was crying but she was careful not to. Michelle said if she was caught crying, the press would make a day of it. However, it was not until she got on the plane to head to her new home that she displayed her true emotions.
"When I got on the plane, I think I sobbed for 30 minutes," she said. "It was just a release of eight years of trying to do everything perfectly. One day you are a normal family and an election happens and your life changes instantly. It's like you're shot out of a cannon. We didn't have time to adjust to it."
Michelle added that although she was honored to be the first lady, the burden of constant scrutiny made her realize that her life was not hers anymore.
"Being the first lady was the greatest honor of my life but how many people are in a position where the entire attention is on you? Every eye is on you, every gesture you make is analyzed. Your life is not yours anymore," she said.
Nearly after two years of leaving the White House, Michelle decided to self reflect during the tour of her best-selling memoir 'Becoming'. The tour opened an avenue for her to be completely herself "unplugged" for the first time. She added that now she is figuring out what she wants to do in life.
"I am figuring out what do I want to do, what do I care about. It takes time to process life, what everything means," she said.
The Netflix documentary 'Becoming' premieres on May 6. The streaming platform states that the film is an intimate look into the life of former First Lady Michelle Obama during a moment of profound change, not only for her personally but for the country she and her husband served over eight impactful years in the White House.