Michelle and Barack Obama have been empty nesters ever since their daughters Malia and Sasha moved out of the family home to attend college.
The sisters now live together in LA after Sasha transferred to the University of Southern California from the University of Michigan in 2022.
While Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, are forging their own careers, it appears they are not quite financially stable enough to turn down a helping hand from the bank of mom and dad.
Michelle appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show this week, and while she praised her daughters' independence, she hinted that she and Obama still help with some of their expenses.
"They're women in the world. Living on their own. Paying rent… ish," she told Jennifer, adding: "They live together."
When Jennifer commented on how quickly they have grown up, Michelle said: "I've loved every phase of raising my daughters. I loved them when they were in my lap and so cute – the comfort, the cuddles.
"And now, they're just grown. They're more raising me. But they are amazing. Sasha's in school, Malia has a budding career in film."
She added: "They are smart, they are funny. They're wise in their own ways and I love spending time with them – they're doing great. They're really good."
Malia is forging a successful career as a screenwriter and director. In January, she showcased her short film, The Heart, at the Utah-based Sundance Film Festival.
© Getty ImagesFor her Sundance debut, Malia went by the name Malia Ann – her first and middle names – rather than using her famous surname.
Her father, Barack – who was President of the United States between 2009 and 2017 – recently admitted that Malia, and her sister Sasha, are both "very stubborn" about using their last name to their advantage, much to their credit.
"The challenge for us is letting us give them any help at all," he said of his daughters while speaking on The Pivot Podcast.
© Getty Images"I mean they're very sensitive about this stuff. They're very stubborn about it. I was all like, ‘You do know they’ll know who you are?'" he explained.
"And [Malia's] all like, 'You know what? I want them to watch it [for the] first time and not in any way have that association.' So I think our daughters [will] go out of their way to not try to leverage that."
© InstagramMichelle and Barack wanted their daughters to enjoy as normal childhoods as possible during their father's time in office.
The former FLOTUS recently gave an insight into their childhood during an interview with Oprah Daily, while discussing her new book, Overcoming: A Workbook.
© InstagramGiving a rare insight into their private lives, she said: "I'm a planner, and I've always been a planner. And that served me well as First Lady, when it felt like I had an endless list of things to do—and all those things were truly important.
"But I knew from the beginning that for me, being a mom was the most important thing of all. That's a helpful baseline to start from—it's critical to have a clear sense of what you want. I knew I wanted to be home as often as possible, to do dinner together, to go to as many of the girls' activities and conferences and give them as normal a life as possible."
