Barack Obama Says One of Michelle's 'Main Goals' Was Not To Be Photographed in a Bikini | 22 Words

While opening up about the ins and the outs of his marriage, Barack Obama revealed one of Michelle's "main goals" as First Lady.

Here's the full story...

The former president got very candid about what being in the White House did to his marriage...

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 And exactly how his wife felt about the whole thing.

Never before has the former president given such a deeply personal interview...

And it comes right off the back of the release of his new memoir.

Now, the Obamas have become one of the most famous families in the world.

Since Barack Obama became president in 2008, he and his family have been catapulted to unprecedented levels of fame.

Obama became the president of the people...

And gained a strong and loyal fan base as a result of his progressive views on social issues such as same-sex marriage and gun control.

He successfully served 2 terms as president...

And, in his 8 years in the White House, Obama cut taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time homebuyers, as well as sticking to his promise of tackling financial reform, alternative energy, reinventing education, and health care.

But Barack wasn't alone in his presidential journey.

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 Continuously supporting him was his wife, Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama quickly became just as famous as her husband...

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 And she made the most idyllic first lady.

The Obama's have a lengthy love story.

The couple first met when a then twenty-five-year-old Michelle Robinson was assigned as a mentor for a twenty-eight-year-old Barack Obama at their law firm.

Though Michelle admits that, initially, she wasn't too keen on the idea of dating Barack...

"Barack, about a month in, asked me out, and I thought 'No way. This is completely tacky,'" she told ABC News, when discussing how the pair had met.

But it was clearly meant to be.

Barack's proposed date was clearly a hit, as the pair were quick to become a couple, and later tied the knot in 1992. Michelle noted that her husband's vows were a glimpse at what was to come. “Barack didn’t pledge riches, only a life that would be interesting. On that promise he delivered," she later recalled.

Michelle supported her husband as he navigated his way through politics...

And, along with their two young daughters, was suddenly catapulted into the spotlight when he ran for president.

It didn't take the world long to fall completely in love with Michelle.

People simply loved the first lady.

And as for Barack?

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 Well, he has remained very much in the public eye and has continued to travel the world and deliver speeches on the causes that are most important to him.

He was very present throughout the 2020 election campaigns...

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 Where he attended many public events to endorse his former running-mate and long-term friend, Joe Biden.

He even shot into the headlines last week for releasing another book...

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 He already has several other books under his belt, including 1995’s Dreams From My Father, 2006’s The Audacity of Hope, and 2010’s Of Thee I Sing: A Letter To My Daughters, to name a few.

But, in today's political climate, Barack's latest book has been a little more anticipated than the rest...

Because, on its debut day, hundreds of thousands of people scrambled to get their hands on a copy.

A Promised Land hit shelves on Tuesday, November 18th.

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The book, which is the first in a series of political memoirs, charts Obama’s path to the White House up to 2011, and documents the lead up to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

And, following its release...

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The former president spoke to PEOPLE Magazine in a shockingly personal interview.

Barack admitted that marital tension was a previously hidden part of his presidency.

"That was the truth of our time in the White House."

He continued...

"Michelle very much believed in the work I did but was less optimistic about what I could get done. ... She's more skeptical about politics and more mindful of the sacrifices to the family," he said.

“During the time we were there, Michelle felt this underlying tension. The pressure, stress, of needing to get everything right, to be 'on' at every moment."

"There were times where I think she was frustrated or sad or angry but knew that I had Afghanistan or the financial crisis to worry about," he says, "so she would tamp it down."

There was also a huge element of "loneliness."

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 So worrisome, in fact, that he recalls in his new memoir how it could keep him awake at night.

The former president described leaving the White House as a "big exhale" for the pair.

"It took some time to talk about how she had felt," he explained, adding, "Once [the presidency] was done, there was possibility of her opening up ... but more importantly just her being able to let out a breathe and relax."

Michelle "has been more relaxed and more joyful since we left office," her husband says.

"That allowed us to just enjoy the deep love that comes with a marriage this long. But also to be friends again."

But, in a follow-up interview with Vanity Fair, Obama detailed some of Michelle's main goals as First Lady.

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 Speaking about his new memoir, he was questioned on comments he makes in the book about family beach trips.

It turns out Michelle had some strong feelings about bathing suits when she was FLOTUS.

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 A passage in his book reads: "There’s that part when you go to the beach with Sasha, and Michelle doesn’t go, and she says that was her one aim as the first lady: to never be captured on film in a bathing suit."

When asked about it, Obama responded:

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 "Well, she wasn’t joking about that. She was serious. 'This is one of my main goals as first lady. I will not be photographed by the paparazzi in a bathing suit.' And she succeeded."

Though, on one occasion, she was snapped out at the beach in high waisted shorts, an oversized shirt, and a bikini top...

Which she totally worked, by the way.

Michelle Obama, the Queen of class.

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 For more on the Obamas, keep scrolling...