Still stocking up on tissues. First Lady Michelle Obama opened up about President Barack Obama‘s emotional farewell address during The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, January 11. Watch what she said in the video above!
FLOTUS, 52, along with the couple’s eldest daughter, Malia Obama, teared up during the speech, which took place at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago on Tuesday.
“It is [getting emotional]. It’s nuts. I feel like crying right now. I didn’t think that it was going to be that emotional because it’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re ready. Yeah, we’re good. It’s been eight years. Eight years is enough. We’re packing up,'” Michelle explained to host Jimmy Fallon. “But no, it has been surprisingly emotional for all of us in ways that we didn’t expect.”
“[Malia] looked over at me and she says, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to cry through the whole speech,'” she added of the 18-year-old. “And I said, ‘It’s OK.'”
Fallon, 42, was just as emotional while watching. “I lost it at home,” he said, laughing. “I was crying on my wife’s shoulder.”
One person noticeably absent from the event was the Obamas’ younger daughter, Sasha Obama. As previously reported, Sasha, 15, stayed back to study for exams.
“She had a final,” Michelle said, joking: “And it’s like, ‘You know the Obamas, girl. Sorry! You have to take your test. You can say goodbye later.'”
Michelle delivered her own tearful final remarks on Friday, January 6, at an event honoring the 2017 School Counselor of the Year. On Wednesday, Fallon asked her what part of the event specifically got her choked up.
“Talking about kids. Talking about the future. Kids are my heart,” Michelle replied. “When I think about the fact that some of them are afraid about what’s to come, I really — what I said, I don’t want them to be afraid. I want them to embrace the future and know that the world is getting better. We have bumps in the road, we have ups and downs, but I want our kids to move forward. I don’t care where they come from — with strength and with hope.”
Michelle also surprised viewers during her Tonight Show drop-by. In another segment, she secretly watched people tape goodbye messages to her before revealing that she was there in person.
