Michelle Obama has revealed the four words her mother said before she passed away in 2024 that have changed the way she lives her life.
Michelle, 61, appeared on NPR’s Wild Card podcast, where she opened up about her final moments with beloved momMarian Robinson – and how they profoundly impacted her.
‘The last year of my mom’s life, she was sick. Her body was just shutting down for a number of various reasons,’ Michelle revealed to host Rachel Martin.
‘And her last bout of illness, she was with me inHawaii, in our home in Hawaii, which was a blessing because she was forced to let me take care of her… She didn’t want to be a burden,’ she continued.
Michelle said she was doing whatever she could to prolong her mom’s life by hiring doctors and nurses and putting her on a diet. She eventually showed signs of getting better and went back to Chicago.
However, her mom realized that she would soon pass, and offered Michelle some wise words, imparted whilst the pair were watching TV.
‘She was realizing that she would not ever be the same old self that she was,’ she reflected. ‘She was starting to realize she’s coming to the end.’
Her mom then leant over to her and said: ‘Wow, this went fast.’
Michelle Obama has shared the last four words her mother, Marian Robinson, said to her before she passed away in 2024
Michelle continued, saying: ‘I held her hand and said, “What are you talking about?” And she said, “Life.”
‘She said, “This went fast.” And this is the woman who was ready,’ she reflected.
The words hit home for Michelle, who said it made her realize that when you’re living a good life, you’re never truly ready for it to end – even if you said you are.
‘So I hope I feel that way,’ she said emotionally. ‘Even though I’ve been ready for it, because it’s been good and purposeful. That I’ll feel like, “I wish I had more time.”‘
‘So I’m trying to live my life like that,’ she concluded, choking up.
Michelle’s mother died peacefully in May 2024 at the age of 86.
At the time, the former First Lady paid tribute to her mother in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, later that evening.
‘My mom Marian Robinson was my rock, always there for whatever I needed. She was the same steady backstop for our entire family, and we are heartbroken to share she passed away today,’ the former first lady wrote.
Michelle Obama (far right) is seen standing with her daughters – Sasha and Malia – as well as mom Marian (far left) during the 2013 inauguration ceremony for husband Barack Obama
In a throwback photo for Mother’s Day, Michelle Obama is pictured with Robinson and her brother Craig
Michelle Obama paid tribute to her mother Marian Robinson who died at the age of 86
Marian became known as the country’s first grandmother after son-in-law, Barack Obama, won the 2008 presidential election
The family also made a separate statement around the same time.
‘There was and will be only one Marian Robinson. In our sadness, we are lifted up by the extraordinary gift of her life. And we will spend the rest of ours trying to live up to her example,’ the Obama family said.
Marian became known as the country’s first grandmother after son-in-law, Barack Obama, won the 2008 presidential election.
Despite living in the White House for his entire eight years in office, she kept a low profile.
She would attend holiday events and even go on trips overseas and wasoccasionally seen at concerts in the East Room.
However, she spent most of her time with her granddaughters, Sasha and Malia who were just seven and 10-years-old at the time.
‘I felt like this was going to be a very hard life for both of them,’ she later said in a CBS News interview, speaking about her daughter and son-in-law Barack.
‘I was worried about their safety, and I was worried about my grandkids. That’s what got me to move to D.C.’
The family’s statement recognized just how integral she was to the family.
‘We needed her. The girls needed her. And she ended up being our rock through it all,’ they said.
‘She relished her role as a grandmother. … And although she enforced whatever household rules we’d set for bedtime, watching TV, or eating candy, she made clear that she sided with her ‘grandbabies’ in thinking that their parents were too darn strict,’ the family added.
