Michelle Obama has opened up about one of the most terrifying moments she faced as a mum — getting the dreaded late-night call that her daughter Sasha had been in a serious car crash.
Speaking on Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast, the former First Lady recalled how determined she was to give her daughters, Malia and Sasha, as normal a childhood as possible — even with the constant presence of Secret Service agents and the pressure of growing up in the White House spotlight.
That meant letting them learn to drive like any other teen. “Once they got their licenses, I told the agents, ‘They have to drive,’” Michelle said. “You can only learn to drive by driving, not by sitting in the back seat of an armoured car”, reported Hello! Magazine.
But things got scary when she received a call one night saying Sasha had been T-boned — a type of crash where one car slams into the side of another. “Literally, her car was totalled,” she said. “And then I thought, ‘Oo, I hope the lady that hit her is okay,’ because can you imagine if you T-boned Sasha Obama?!”
Thankfully, Sasha was unharmed, but the moment was a reminder of how vulnerable even the most protected families can be. Michelle said it was important to let her girls live real lives, even if it meant navigating typical teenage risks.
“I didn’t want them sitting home on Saturday night not understanding what it was like to be out and have a life before they went to college,” she explained, admitting the teenage years were far more stressful than their childhood ones.
Since leaving the White House, both daughters have found their own paths. Malia, who graduated from Harvard in 2021 with a degree in history, is now pursuing a film career and has already worked on Donald Glover’s Swarm. Sasha, who finished her sociology degree after transferring to USC, is currently focused on furthering her education.
“I was so glad when we got out of the White House,” Michelle admitted. “I wanted them to have the freedom of not having the eyes of the world on them.”
Now both living in Los Angeles, the sisters share a home and continue to carve out their identities. Michelle couldn’t be prouder. “They are smart, they’re funny, they’re wise in their own ways — and I love spending time with them,” she said on The Jennifer Hudson Show.