Michelle Obama shares ‘strange’ experience after spending ‘abnormal’ 8 years at White House: 'Our dogs didn't know…'
Michelle Obama spoke candidly about her family's departure from the White House and her newly discovered sense of freedom with “close friend” Melinda Gates.
Michelle Obama spoke candidly about her family's departure from the White House and her newly discovered sense of freedom with “close friend” Melinda Gates.

The 60-year-old former First Lady and the 68-year-old ex-wife of Microsoft mogul Bill Gates demonstrated their close relationship on a recent episode of Melinda's podcast Moments 'That Make Us'.
During the podcast, Melinda heaped praises on her friend, insisting that she was “lucky” to have her in her life.
Michelle noted that it felt “wonderful” to bid farewell to her official career, but admitted that it was quite “odd” to be at a residence other than the President's Palace.
She remarked that hearing her doorbell ring after leaving the White House was “strange”.
The mother of two clarified that she and former President Barack Obama decided to remain in Washington, D.C for the sake of their daughters, Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23 as the girls were in school at that time.
“I knew when Malia would want to come home for breaks she'd want to come home to her friends so we stayed in D.C,” she said.
Michelle opened up about her family's last Air Force One helicopter ride, stating that “it felt like we were on vacation but then when we came back to our new home, it was odd.”
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Michelle Obama talks about ‘abnormal’ experience at White House
The former First Lady acknowledged they were having troubles acclimating to living on a different street and their newfound independence.
She revealed it was difficult to drive down a different street since the family still had barricades and secret service. “But I had a front door that I could open where people would walk up to visit and ring the doorbell and our dogs didn't know what a doorbell was.”
“So it was just the freedom of opening my own door, walking down to my own kitchen, opening up my back door on my own without calling Secret Service and being able to sit in the warm sun on a porch and listen to neighborhood sounds and other neighborhood dogs.”
According to Michelle, returning back to some sort of normalcy was a “huge” matter.
The Obamas, who entered the White House in 2009, departed it in 2017 after the end of Barack's second presidency.
She confessed that her family finally realised how “sheltered” they had been after leaving the White House. She called her eight years in White House “wonderful”, but remarked it was so “abnormal”.
ABOUT THE AUTHORShweta KukretiShweta Kukreti has over 8 years of experience in covering Indian and world politics. She joined the Hindustan Times in 2024 and is primarily assigned to the US desk. She currently works as Deputy Chief Content Producer and reports on a wide range of topics, including US politics, immigration issues (especially H-1B visa) and major global events. Shweta strongly emphasizes team operations, which encompasses monitoring news, delegating tasks, editing, developing comprehensive coverage strategies, and crafting engaging, and data-informed narratives. She received the Digi Star Award at the Hindustan Times within a year of joining for her broad coverage of US politics. In 2025, she earned both a promotion and a redesignation, a significant achievement recognising her contributions and the strong value she brings to the team. She has previously worked with the Indian Express, HTDS, ANI and Republic World. Seniors in all the media organisations recognised her work. Regarding education, she earned a BA (Hons.) in Political Science and a master's degree from Delhi University, and she pursued a PG Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institution of Mass Communication (IIMC). She also holds a diploma in Women's Empowerment and Development from IGNOU University and a French certification course from Alliance Française de Delhi. If not working, you can find her exploring the hills and engaging in adventurous activities in Rishikesh and Himachal Pradesh. She loves to play badminton, volleyball, and chess, and spend time with her friends and family. She also enjoys spiritual activities.Read More

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