MICHELLE & CRAIG Answer Your Questions & Talk Housewives, Relationships, & More | IMO

What this episode is about

Michelle and Craig engage in a lighthearted discussion addressing listener questions, covering a range of topics including their insights on relationships, memorable moments from reality TV like "Real Housewives," and personal anecdotes. The duo emphasizes their unique dynamic as they reflect on their experiences working together and their evolving friendship.

Key takeaways

• Reality TV's magic lies in transforming mundane moments into epic drama, like Teresa's legendary table flip.
• Sibling dynamics can diverge wildly, revealing that shared experiences are filtered through individual lenses.
• A cluster of ear piercings symbolizes self-expression; let’s not neglect how evolving styles shape identity.
• Art transcends words: Shakespeare's grief in 'Hamnet' reminds us that silence can convey deep emotions.
• Podcasting's beauty? It’s a space where unfiltered banter uncovers the layers of both friendship and history.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Michelle Obama (Host) · 29 min speaking
• Craig (Guest) · 20 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Theraflu, Teresa Giudice, Real Housewives of New Jersey
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Hamnet, John Batiste, Suleika Jawad, Chloe Zhao
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Shopify
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Hamnet, Shopify
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Formula One, Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa Giudice
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Acorns, Theraflu, Teresa Giudice

Notable quotes from "MICHELLE & CRAIG Answer Your Questions & Talk Housewives, Relationships, & More | IMO"

• It's hard for me to remember specific scenes, but of course, Teresa Giudice's table flip, prostitution whore, you know.

  about Teresa Giudice · at 0:00

• Hamnet, this is my, you never watch movies.

  about Hamnet · at 5:52

• Chloe Zhao is the director, just beautifully directed.

  about Chloe Zhao · at 6:39

• I read Suleika's book, which was a tearjerker, but I watched American Symphony for the first time. A higher ground production. A higher-ground production that I recommended for everyone.

  about John Batiste · at 8:52

• Empire, whether it's merch, products, or the next best idea, get on Shopify.com slash IMO and make it happen today.

  about Shopify · at 14:57

• It was the first Formula One they did in Miami, because a dear friend of ours, Melody Hobson, it's friends with both of us and George Lucas, love.

  about Formula One · at 20:33

• Learn more or help someone apply for the fund at Theraflu.com slash Right To Recover.

  about Theraflu · at 28:06

• Sign up now and join over 14 million all-time customers who have already saved and invested over $25 billion with Acorns.

  about Acorns · at 29:09

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Teresa Giudice — Person · Referenced reality TV personality · 3 mentions · first at 0:04
  Used as the canonical example of an iconic Real Housewives moment (the table flip) while discussing favorite Bravo scenes and franchise recommendations.
• John Batiste — Person · Referenced prior/future guest (musician/composer) · 1 mention · first at 8:44
  Mentioned as a recent IMO guest; his music in 'American Symphony' is described as moving the host to tears and shaping the emotional impact of the film.
• Suleika Jawad — Person · Referenced prior/future guest (author) · 1 mention · first at 8:44
  Cited as a recent IMO guest whose book the host read in preparation; her work is described as emotionally affecting and tied to the documentary discussed.
  Preparation for them coming on, Not only Did I read Suleika's book, which was a tearjerker, but I watched American Symphony for the first time. A higher ground production. A higher-ground.
• Chloe Zhao — Person · Referenced filmmaker (director) · 1 mention · first at 6:39
  Mentioned as the director of the film being discussed (“Hamnet”), in the segment about the last time the host cried and why the film was emotionally powerful.

Books & papers

• Hamnet — Book · Primary recommendation · 3 mentions · first at 5:48
  Hamnet is a book discussed in the podcast, highlighting its emotional impact and the story of Shakespeare's family life.

Concepts & topics

• Formula One — Concept · Key argument · 2 mentions · first at 20:15
  Formula One is discussed as a sport of interest, with detailed explanations about its complexities and the experience of attending a race.

Media & podcasts

• Real Housewives of New Jersey — Media · Referenced work · 3 mentions · first at 0:04
  The Real Housewives of New Jersey is mentioned as a recommended franchise for new viewers, with specific scenes and characters discussed.
  It's hard for me to remember specific scenes, but of course, Teresa Giudice's table flip, prostitution whore, you know.
• American Symphony — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 8:56
  American Symphony is mentioned as a documentary that had a strong emotional impact on the speaker, highlighting the story of John Batiste and Suleika Jawad.
  I read Suleika's book, which was a tearjerker, but I watched American Symphony for the first time. A higher ground production. A higher-ground production that I recommended for everyone.

Sponsors

• Theraflu — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at 0:22
  Theraflu is a sponsor of the podcast, mentioned in ad reads promoting their cold and flu relief products and their Rest and Recover Fund.
• Acorns — Product · Sponsor · 5 mentions · first at 28:13
  Acorns is a sponsor of the podcast, promoting their financial wellness app for saving and investing.
• Shopify — Product · Sponsor · 3 mentions · first at 14:19
  Shopify is mentioned as a sponsor, promoting their platform for starting and managing online businesses.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 It's hard for me to remember specific scenes, but of course, Teresa Giudice's table flip, you know, prostitution whore, you know. PROSTITUTION HEART! This episode is brought to you by Theraflu. Hey, how you doing? I'm good. How are you? I'm really good. I'm excited about this. This is going to be fun. Yeah, this is something new that might become something permanent. Yeah. Yeah, in the rotation, in IMO rotation. I know. Tell our listeners what we're about to do. So folks, as we always welcome you to IMO, we're going to do something a little different this time because we get a lot of questions and we really appreciate all the questions that we get from you folks.

0:56 But some of them aren't necessarily made for a whole show. So we took a bunch of those and put them together and I have them here and I thought it'd be a good idea for you and I to try and go through some of these, which are, there's a whole gamut of these. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, this is more of the Michelle and Craig portion of IMO with Michelle and Craig. So it's just us. NO GUESS! It's just Michelle and Craig. So, we can do whatever we want. Okay. Woo, let's go. First question, what is one thing you've learned about the other from doing the podcast and working together?

1:37 Oh. Do you want to go first or do you want me to go? I will go first. Okay. What I've learned is that you tried to get your ears pierced and thought I didn't notice. And I see you got all these new piercings in your ear. Yeah yeah and then which I still don't think I don't you notice I did notice. So we have been having a fight this whole session about whether or not I noticed it. And I noticed it, but we were in the midst of a show and I noticed that like this, we were sitting like this. Yeah, but we're together all the time. I mean, you know, it's not like we are just, we walk in, we sit in a show.

2:16 I mean I've been, we've sit in the hall, we had lunch together. It was days. It was day being together. It wasn't days. I saw it. I just went, I said, oh, I saw that. But when I saw we were in the midst of a show. So I didn't think to comment on it until I saw it again, but until you mentioned that I'm waiting for the men in my life to notice. And I was like, what is she talking about? Well, anyway, just to let you guys know what happened is that I have always thought about getting some extra piercings in my ear and just never got around to it.

2:51 I had a second hole that I had got like before I had kids, but then I just got lazy and stopped putting an earring in it. But nowadays, the young people in my life are doing more piercins. There's just more beautiful endowment. You see there's more of a cluster. Constellation sort of look of twinkles that goes, uh, yeah, I got, so I was going in for a few and then I did my normal self and was like, Oh, put one there and put one, Oh yeah, let's try one there. So I, in one sitting, I've got 10 piercings. So. Ouch. It actually was not that.

3:31 It's not that painful. Well, that's good. It's really beautiful. Do you like it? I like it, I like, it is, if I didn't. I want our listeners to let us know what they think. If, if I didn't like it, you know, I would say, I know. Took him a couple of days, and he was like, you haven't had your hair up, you've had your hair down. And I was like I don't know. I've been feeling good. I like sleep with you every night, dude, you know? But he noticed yesterday and I got them done like four days ago. So don't tell him that I noticed before him.

4:10 I think. I think, I think I did. You did. Ouch. But the more serious thing that I learned from doing the show with you is that you and I grew up in the exact same house with the exact same parents, but our memories are, can be vastly different. It's true. At times. But our experience have been different too. You know, I was commenting to our producers earlier how, you know, dad would take me and do stuff that he wouldn't take you and do So I'm sure that's no surprise to anybody but And there were conversations that I had with mom that apparently I thought she was having with you, like how she thought about leaving dad every spring.

4:57 Oh, she and, and, you know, given. She probably, she probably knew your little heart probably couldn't take that. I would have been worried about that every year, every spring. Oh shoot. Well, it has been fun working with you. Oh man, this has been a joy It's not something I didn't know. You're very professional, you're very prepared, you are a great partner to have. You take everything you do seriously, but I kind of knew that about you. But it's fun to have a partner that shows up in the same way. It is. It is, everybody knows how diligent you are.

5:37 So I have to keep the bar high for myself. You're doing a good job. Next question, when is the last time you cried? Oh, this is easy. I watched Hamnet. Hamnet, this is my, you never watch movies. Cause you're too busy on social media. You know, I watch movies, but I haven't watched Hamnet. But Hamnet is a, the story of Shakespeare, the his early life, his family life, his relationship, so it's a period piece, obviously. And you learn about his son Hamnet. He had three children, two daughters and one son, and he lost his son.

6:28 It talked about how it explained how that loss, his relationship helped fuel some of his greatest work. Chloe Zhao is the director, just beautifully directed. And it's just touching and powerful in the ending, which I will not give it away, but it's a 10 minute ending and there are no words. It's the end of. What was it, Hamlet, the first time his wife saw his work, after she was kind of upset with him? For for, you know, she kind of realized that through this all, I'm alone and yes, you bought us a beautiful home but I've been here alone dealing with this. So she was angry, but she had never taken the time to see what he had given up so much of his family time to do.

7:23 And it was her watching a scene in Hamlet that she could see where it was about their son. And the pain that he was working through, through his art. Hmm And it was just beautifully, beautifully done. And I don't like to choke up. And I, you know how you're trying to hold back tears. I could, I was, it was so emotional. I couldn't, I mean, I literally was sobbing. And I rarely do that in a film, but just we watched that the other day, beautiful. Amnet okay you you I'm a buyer. I'm a buyer. Has anybody seen it? Did you all feel the same way I felt about it?

8:05 I mean, the actor, all of the actors, the children, amazing amazing. It deserves to be in the running. It's a beautiful, beautiful film. Oh, me, me. Anyway, that was a long one. Yeah, that was a long one, but that's okay. That's all right. Mine won't be as long. I should get paid by the Hamlet people. You got you. I mean, I think I did some Oscar for them. I'll go watch it. So, so as as you all know, we have been cranking these shows out. So my preparation is always ongoing. And we just had. Suleika Jawad and John Batiste on and in preparation for them coming on, Not only Did I read Suleika's book, which was a tearjerker, but I watched American Symphony for the first time. A higher ground production. A higher-ground production that I recommended for everyone.

9:05 But let me tell you, I was bawling almost, it wasn't quite the beginning, but early on. And let me you tell you it's a little different than bawling over great writing or great acting. It was the combination of their story together, which is a love story. And, and, and his music, his music touched me. In a in a way that when I met him, I almost started crying. Yeah. And he felt that. Yeah. But it's, you know, there are some movies like the the oh, you wouldn't know this, but the opening of Gladiator. Yeah, not a big gladiator is a guy's movie and the music.

9:53 It's like I wasn't expecting that And the music adds to it, and this was the same effect in a emotional way for me. So that was the last time. Stay tuned for the episode with Suleika and John, it's a beautiful episode. Okay, next one, this is going to take a severe sea turn here. Okay, I love a turn. My partner has expressed a desire to open up our relationship. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this, but I can tell he isn't very happy or satisfied with the way things are going. What should I do?

10:36 Ha ha ha ha! Look, I just, I wouldn't do it. Not something, I don't, I know that there is a polygamy culture. What are they? What is that? Are they calling? Polyamorous. That's what it's called. Um, not my cup of tea. Yeah, we old. We old. It's hard. Yeah, not again. Say, not my cup of tea. Well, and I'm gonna say if you weren't into it before and want it now, that is a real no go for me. Now, if you met that way or you have been polyamorous prior and you're thinking, okay, this might work for us, then we can have another conversation.

11:27 BUTT You guys went into this and like, it's a, it supposed to be a monogamous relationship. You're typical. Partnership and now one person wants to change up the Mm-hmm The details and Sounds a little fishy. It does sound fishy, so. Sound a little fishy. Look, and for the questioner, don't talk yourself into something like that, that you are not into. There's a reason you're not into it. And that's not the kind of compromise in a marriage that you get used to and adjust to. If you're unsure about it, it's probably because it's not something that you want.

12:11 And if your partner is unhappy. Explore that first. Like if you don't don't do that to keep your partner Don't don't make that kind of accommodation in your relationship Because you think it's broken, you know deal with what if it's broke and figure it out And it's not because there aren't enough people in the relationship. I can't say that that's ever You know the the root of the problem is that we need more emotions thrown into the mix I never talked to dad about anything like this, but I could imagine him saying don't make a communication problem into an intimacy problem.

12:54 Do you think he, well, that's deep. I think he would say something like that. Like dag dad. Way to go. I think he would. I think you will. So we're not into it, and we don't recommend that you get into it especially because you're not into. Right. Right. Oh

13:18 We played a summer tournament about two hours away. And as I think back, I wish we had considered staying in an Airbnb home instead of staying at a hotel. We would have had an opportunity to eat together, watch film together, as well as control the curfew of a bunch of 13 year old boys. I also think that it would have given our parents a break from their children. As you can imagine, coming together as a team outside of the game is as important as what you do on the court. And having the ability to hang out together at an Airbnb would have given us that extra opportunity to bond.

14:00 And if you're thinking about the big tournaments that come into your town, now is a great time to think about hosting fellow fans and players during the season. February is the month we all start romanticizing a little. Our routines, our goals, even those ideas we can't stop thinking about. And if you've got one of those ideas, Shopify is the best place to bring it to life bigger. Shopify makes the first step simple. Whether it's a side hustle or a full storefront, Shopify takes the guesswork out of starting something new.

14:33 Everything's in one place, easy to manage, even if it's just you. Their themes, their tools, even their AI, Shopify Sidekick. It all helps you save time and stay focused on what matters. So think about it, what's that idea you keep coming back to? And what would it look like to finally build it? So if you're ready to build your own empire, whether it's merch, products, or the next best idea, get on Shopify.com slash IMO and make it happen today.

15:13 Next one. How do I combat FOMO? I think everybody knows what FOMO is, but I would say I paused. It's not Hamnet. You know, we are in the- I did. I did pause because I was going to say, and for those of you who don't know what FOMO is, and then I was gonna say, but you're right, everybody knows what Fomo is. I'm broke and I barely see my friends anymore because they always go out for dinner. Mm-hmm. Get coffees or go on vacations together, generally doing things I can't afford to do right now. How do I combat my FOMO or how do I get my friends to do broke things with me?

15:54 Plan some broke things and invite your friends. I mean. Look, yeah, if you can't afford to do what they do, I'm sure that that is hurtful and you feel a little left out, right? But, you know, your financial position is what it is, but there's so many more ways to have fun. The question that I have is, are they not a planner? Are they just somebody who is waiting to be invited in? It's like, look, if... If you're not invited to a party, then have your own. Make your own, invite your friends to a picnic. Do invite people over to your, if you're broke, to your small ass apartment and make it a potluck, right?

16:43 You know? If they're your true friends. Mm-hmm. They would love to do something broke with you. So my first thing would be make sure that they're your real friends because. Because, you know. My, my, my wealthy friends will include me and stuff. Mm-hmm. And will be happy to come and do my kind of stuff. Yeah. And that's how it should be. Your real friends don't... It's not about what you're doing or how much you're spending. It's being together with people who you enjoy to be around. So what you're saying is they may not be your friends.

17:20 It's what I'm saying, it's what i'm saying. Okay. What is something you're curious about right now that would surprise people? Gosh, I tell so much about my life. I don't know if anything would surprise people. What am I curious about? It's not that I'm curious about, but that I really enjoy given how, you know, sort of snarky I can be about sports. Mm-hmm snarky is a nice word. I do enjoy sports. I really do. I am, you know, I know football, I know basketball, I know the game. I've grown up with it. You know, if I'm sitting there watching it, I definitely do find myself drawn into it, analyzing why they do that and what's going on here.

18:11 So I can get into it. Mm-hmm. But what I'm really into are the sports documentaries of any kind. I mean, I love the story of an athlete's rise, fall journey. And I tend to watch all of it, you know? And I'm gonna get the Netflix stuff on tennis and our work that we did starting five. I watch all that. And if that comes up... If something good comes up in sports. So you'd be surprised that I'm into it in sports too. Yeah, I am. But I'm in to it in, you know, just watched on Apple a documentary about, and that was old, Sidney Poitier.

18:59 You know, I love just running, I've gone down all the list of television, you knows, bios, and I just love the story of a person's life. But I'm particularly interested in the story of an athlete's life and their, the work that goes into it in their psych, their psychology and how they get through a season, um, I'm fascinated by that. That is a surprise. Yeah. That is. So I did it. Yes, you did. What about you? So, I think most people now know. Fashion So funny. That would be funny if I said that. He watches the spring shows in Paris.

19:43 I think people are well aware that, because I've said this a lot, and now that we do this show, I probably talked about this a lotta, but how much of a race fan I am because I wanted to be a race car driver. Another thing little you wanted to be a pilot and an astronaut you wanted Yeah, I wanted to be all the stuff that you can't do. You grew out of your dreams. I grew out my dreams and my legs just got too long for the cockpit. They got too for the driver's seat. But I am a, people don't know that I'm a huge Formula One fan.

20:18 And I just found that out a couple of years ago. And that was, that was funny when you found out and you, you were so kind to treat Kelly and me on one of my birthdays to a trip down to Miami. It was the first Formula One they did in Miami, because a dear friend of ours, Melody Hobson, it's friends with both of us and George Lucas, love you guys. True Blue, Melodys a Princetonite, but they, George Lucas is a huge Formula One fan. And Melody invited me, and I don't know anything about Formula One. But then I heard, you know, that you were into it.

20:57 I was like, let me go for you. Yes, you did. You did because you had no idea what was going on. I did not. And it was such a scene too. It was a scene. It's a scene, but once after we got through all the scene part and we were watching the race, you were interested in trying to figure out. Well, like, it's a sport. It's a sport you were like so why what's this and that so that was really fun to see you be open to Yeah. And you knew everything about, I mean, it's a complicated sport to watch. It's a difficult one to watch because there's the qualifying and what does that mean?

21:38 And what does that means for your time? And then I didn't realize it was like the tire rotation thing. Yes. And how many times you visit the pit. Visit You know, um, and what's the penalty, you know, you were explaining all this stuff. Yeah, there were some time penalties for infractions and things and, yeah, but I, that was a bucket list day for me, but most people do not know. Know that you're That I'm an F1 fan. You got to walk down in the- Oh, we were- Oh, we were in the paddock. We got to sit in the, we got to sit in a paddock and we got to sit in the seats that are in the paddock and listen to the engineers talking to the racers and, and, and hear what's actually going on, which you and Kelly had no idea, but I was, I was Well, it was good having you there because you were like our little.

22:31 On the side. Yeah, it was really neat, really neat. So, all right, good question. All right, now this one's just for you. No. You can imagine what it is. No. What is one of your favorite scenes from any Bravo Real Housewives franchise? Guys. Yeah, that's right. And all this time, have you not? So I'm waiting, I'm going to do it because you recommended it to me. Which series are you going to? But there's a new one coming out called The Real Housewives of Rhode Island and since I lived there, I was going to watch that one.

23:08 Don't start with a new one. No, don't start without. Don't start with that, but then I'm jumping in and I won't know the story. No, well, then you have to do too. Because it takes some time for the relationships to cultivate, right? And we don't know whether the new ones are gonna make it, right. We don't. I mean, I wish you all well, but we don't know y'all yet. They may not be interesting. I want you to dive into, you know, one where. One that you know is good. OK. I get that. I get. All right. But scenes that stand out, I mean, it's hard for me to remember specific scenes but of course, Teresa Giudice's table flip, prostitution whore.

23:56 Prostitution on! She flipped the table. It's a lot of them involved. And was stuff on the table? Oh, it was at a nice dinner. There were wine and tablecloths. And these are the Real Housewives of New Jersey. So it was. So it was that one you recommend because it said the follow-up question here says what's your recommendation for the best housewife franchise? To get new viewers into Um, New Jersey is going through some stuff right now. Um, cause it wasn't even clear that they were going to film together. Um well because Teresa, judice and her brother, Joe are central, but they don't, they haven't been getting along.

24:36 There's a brother-sister situa- Yeah, they're brothers, sisters, and they're, you know... And their spouses are on there. Yeah. Yeah. But I think they are filming. It's a good one. OK. Because the Jersey folks don't play. So so that's there are a couple of ones from Teresa, who was one of the housewives that actually went to jail. Like we served time because her first husband got them into tax trouble. So they both went to gaol. Really? And the. First husband is not allowed back in the country. And they have kids.

25:16 They have five, four or five beautiful girls. So we saw all that. So we saw all that. This is not faked. No, no, no. She went to jail. She went jail and they had her on the show. They showed her going to jail Yeah, and then when she got out and then she came back on the show. And she's back on the show. Oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's a journey. That's what I'm saying. Go to New Jersey, but you got to start, pick a season that you can start maybe right around the time she's about to go to jail would be a good one.

25:44 But Teresa's a pill. And there was one time in the reunion when she like almost knocked out Andy. A, uh, w-w-fist fight? She was going after another housewife and he was trying to stop her. This is the host. She takes one arm and just pushes him out of weight and these are little ladies, but she's strong. I love that one. That was another one. All right, back to reality. That's something you know, we're gonna have to do another one and by the next time we do a mailbag you will have I'll have to have seen one and then we can talk about it.

26:25 All right, Aaron, you're in charge. Does Kelly watch any? Well, yes, I told you. Oh, well then watch with her, watch the one that she, this is a good couples activity. The women in my- The women in my family, all of them are smart, intelligent. This isn't about smart and intelligence, this is about- Leslie juice. This is about tea. Elena, they all watch this. We all like tea, other people's tea. Okay. Alright.

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30:09 All right, here's the next question. I like this one. I've been seeing this guy for a year. His lease is ending, and he asked if he could move in with me. I have a spare room. He can only contribute $500. What? To the- to the monthly rent while I can cover the rest on my end. But my question for you is, how do you deal with an early relationship with uneven financial footing? I know what your answer is gonna be. Well, no, I mean, I think an early relationship with uneven financial footing, you know, you probably have to split more. I mean I don't think that it's necessary for two people to be financial equals to build a relationship.

30:57 Building a relationship and dating, but moving in period. You know, if it's early in the relationship, you shouldn't be moving in First of all, I don't care how much money he has or doesn't have, like you don't know him yet, right? Let alone a new person in your life that you've just met that is now going to be living in a room that you have. What happens if, you know, what are you going to do when you find out that he lied about something or you find that he is different from who you thought he is and And now he's on your, he's a sub letter, you know?

31:36 Now you have a contract with him. Why on earth would anybody think to do that early in a relationship? You know, wait, wait a couple of years. I'm not, you know, I'm, I I'm not even going to speak to whether the male in the relationship should be contributing more. This to me is about, you don't do anything that serious in an early part of a relationship. Maybe this will be controversial, but I think you can have deep like at first sight, but love to me in most instances, because there are always exceptions. It takes time to fully have somebody reveal themselves to you over time to know whether or not.

32:27 Your, your affections and your feelings stand the test of time. There's so many tests you need in a relationship. Have you ever traveled together? Traveling together and not just traveling to grandma's house, doing a tough trip, like go abroad, you know, be, use passports, be in a place where there is another language and things aren't comfortable. How do you all resolve those issues? I'm always like, you always want to see how your partner's home life is. What are th- Go to Thanksgiving dinner. See how people relate to their families. Do they have a relationship?

33:02 What are some of the sticking points? If you meet somebody in January, you miss the holidays. So you got to wait another, you want to get to a holiday where you see people's families, right? I mean, I just think that, you know, time reveals so much. Of course there are the exceptions. There are plenty of people that I know who have great relationships where I met him. Month one, we were engaged. Month three, we'd been married for 20 years. That happens for sure. But my recommendation as always, take some time. Make moving in like way down the line. And if he's that broke, that if you're saying he's moving in with you because he can't afford to live anywhere else, I would definitely stay clear of that. Don't.

33:53 Don't come to the rescue because I'd want to know why did how did you get in a position? That's a real for rent. I want to see your bank statement. Yeah Right. Okay. There's not much I would say differently. I will say, I will say that I don't think that your take is controversial. I think most people realize that it's hard to have love at first sight. It just, but you know, I don't know too many, I'm trying to think of the people in my life who said that they met their partner and knew right away there was going to be a long term situation. So.

34:28 I have met people like that, but it's not the norm. It's not the norm, it's not the norm. So I don't think it's controversial. And I think the important thing to peel back what you said is there's no need to hurry. Mm-hmm. To move in together, especially if you're adults, right? Like, you know, it's just, there's absolutely no hurry. Take the time to get to know the person and certainly don't move in the together. This is like a shotgun move in, together. Mm-hmm. It's like I'm about to get kicked out. I'm about to get kicked out.

35:06 Can you help brother out? Yeah, no, I can't yeah, I cannot. Yeah. All right. That's easy All right, this one's just for you Oh, another one. And you can say pass. Are there some that are just for you? Well, no, because you're the iconic one of the pair, and folks... That's not what the word on the street is. What's a White House secret you've never told? Which doesn't make sense, because then it would be a secret. I mean, I've told everything, all the secrets that I can tell. You have told already. Pick up one of my books, they're in there. And anything I haven't told you, I can't.

35:42 There's a reason. That's right. That is correct. Of national security. This one is, you know, I laughed when I saw this question, which I shouldn't have said because I might offend somebody, but here we go. I just found out through Instagram that my ex is dating a far right conservative. For context, we are both women. When I DMed her about it, she blocked me. Have you lost friends to politics before? And how do you feel with close friends having such drastic ideological changes? Well, you know, I mean, we're the Obamas.

36:25 I think all our friends are pretty clear on what they're entering into when they endeavor to have a friendship. But before we were, I can't say that. There has been an instance where I've felt that because my husband was in politics, I've felt that some people that I respected were not supportive, not in a, like, I'm going to vote for him, but I'm gonna work against him. I don't play when it comes to my husband. So there's only been a handful of instances where I've dropped a friend because I didn't trust them around this issue.

37:15 Or I was like, if you're not with him, then you're with me. But it's been rare, it's been very rare. And I, you know... I think it's hard for us not to know our friends' political stances because of who we are. It's also hard not to know because they're your friends and if they're your friends, you know what their political leanings are. You know, sometimes people just don't want to talk about... Not my friends. See, this is an easy one for me. I haven't lost any friends because they're my friends Right. Yeah, you shouldn't be losing friends over Well, people today, you know, there are people who have are struggling within families because of different, uh, you know, views.

38:04 I think politics has, is, is more divisive now, uh in ways that it wasn't the case when, when we were coming up. So I do think more people are probably confronted with this issue. Um, it's a, all I can say it's, it, it a difficult position to be in, especially win. You know, it is hard not to see certain positions as contrary to some fundamental things that you believe in and it can get tough. But I haven't, you know, I haven t had to deal with that. And what I would tell the questioner. You know, try to stay open and have some communication, you know because there was something in your partner that you saw before politics got in the way and people grow and change.

39:04 So if you were really into and cared about this person, I would urge you all to maybe seek some counseling to find a way to have a mediated conversation. Maybe you have to draw some lines in the sand and just say we love each other, but we can't go here. I wouldn't throw out the baby with a bath water because political ideologies change. I'm not sure how old they are. If they're young, people can be playing around in a space. They could be exploring different beliefs. Um, I would say. Try to work on some line of communication and you might need a third party person to help you do it.

39:53 If you think the relationship was worth it before the political divide happened or you were aware of it. Right. As in most relationship questions communications. Try it out. We have one more question from our listener who is here in studio with us. It will be Crystal from Alaska. How can I, as a single woman, talk to my friends about not being able to contribute to bachelorette parties and baby showers? I'm building a financial future for myself that might rely solely on me, and I need to hunker down. Asking for a friend.

40:41 Is sort of the expectations of weddings. Mm-hmm. Has exploded since you and I got married. Okay. Right? I mean, when we were coming up, you got engaged on your own, your fiance came, asked, it was an intimate experience. There was generally not an engagement party. No. No, I've never been to an engagement. I'd never we've never been to an engagement party anytime in our life when we were broken when we were with you know even a higher class of people who had resources our peers who were all professionals and bankers and lawyers this never happened never went to an engagement party um never went on a pre engagement trip you know never so now the expectation is that everybody flies in. So the engagement becomes an event in itself where friends are expected to fly in after the engagement to then celebrate the couple after they've been engaged. So that's an ask.

41:55 And then there's the bachelorette party or the bachelor party, which oftentimes is a destination place. So now your friend got married. Now, not only were you expected to fly, and sometimes you're flying to Paris for their engagement because they wanted to get, they're from the South side of Chicago, but they've dreamt of getting engaged in front of the Eiffel Tower. And now they want you to join in. And the bachelor party is like that. The bachelor party like that, and this is before you get to the wedding, which a lot of times this day and age, people are having these destination weddings.

42:31 I'm from the south side of Chicago, but we're going to get married on the Amalfi coast and you're in it and you have to fly there This is what this caller is talking about in order to participate and celebrate your friends Just imagine you're at the stage where you have five friends getting married in one year Yeah, and it's early in your... Your career, you know, you're in your right. We're not talking about people in their forties, right. So, and so what I'm finding is that the young people in my life are spending so much of their early wealth on attending other, being involved in each other's weddings.

43:10 I've talked to people of in their twenties who they've got like 10 weddings, that's their, and they're traveling to all of them. So it's a plane ticket, it's hotel, not to mention what you're wearing. This is if you're not in the wedding party. I just think that in this culture, what I would say to young people is count really, it's like what I say about college. If you don't, if you can't afford to do it, then you really have to know how much it costs. You have to know how many money you're spending. What those loans are going to mean that you're taking out, what those payments are going to do to you, what that means at the tail end of your experience, so that at the end of it, you don't wind up with nothing or surprised that you don t have wealth.

43:58 I mean, if you're going to that many weddings, I can tell you, I've heard young people say they're spending eight, $10,000 a year going to other people's weddings. What I will say is that is the beginning of a down payment on a home. That is the beginning of a down payment if you decide to have kids, of putting your kids in college. And I'm not saying that people can't have the wedding that they want, but what I advise young people is you better really think about what you can afford and set a budget for yourself that you can't afford.

44:34 And then you have to talk to your friends. Now we're on the broke part. You should tell your friends, I love you. I am happy for you. I can't afford it. And I'm gonna be able to afford to do three things this year. Because once you do that, now you don't have your vacation. This is your vacation, this is your trip to visit your family. You're compounding all of this. I would strongly urge young people to count, to really understand the financial expense that they're making. And if you can afford to it, and this is how you want to spend your money.

45:10 Of course, have at it, you know? It's wonderful to support your friends in weddings. Maybe you'll find the love of your life at somebody's wedding. You don't want to miss, you don't wanna miss out. That's the FOMO part of it. But to do it blindly, to do and then look up in 10 years and go, I don't have any savings because I've been a, and then that means that friends have to understand. I hate to beat a dead horse, but I am going to, because it all goes back to, you know, my really good friends would either have a wedding that people, that their friends could attend, or they would understand that their friend couldn't attend because it was going to be too expensive for them. So I'm in total agreement with you.

45:58 I just didn't realize that it had gotten to the point of this nuclear. Explosion Yeah, the expectations. The expectations of folks having these big wedding, big destination weddings. We had a, Barack and I, we had a big wedding. It was 300 and something people. But, you know, we did it in Chicago. We did it at a venue. We got a local cater. We didn't have a wedding coordinator. We didn't have a, and it still cost a lot of money. Now we, and a lot for the time. It was $12,000, which felt like a lot. It was a lot, for us, starting out.

46:43 Um, but even looking back, we were glad we did it because our families were from, you know, Barack's family lived in Hawaii. There wasn't, there wasn't sort of a regular way for our families to get together. It felt good to have all of our friends from all parts of our lives come together and they meet each other and they stayed friends with each other. That was all good. It wasn't the venue or the flowers or any of the things we spent money on that made it special. And I probably didn't know that then because I was young and you dream of your wedding and I would have spent less.

47:31 But it's easy to say in hindsight, right? Um, so I get, you know, you, you have this dream wedding and, you know. We have the resources. I would want to help Malia and Sasha have the weddings that they wanted, but I would definitely be talking to them about the burden some of their choices would have on their friends. You have to sort of talk about that upfront and figure out what that means and what they want. And I'd also offer money over the cost of a wedding. Yeah, I know, that's your MO. In the You want the wedding or you want the check? You want the check?

48:10 Let's make a deal. Do you want the box? What's behind door number three? Or do you want to take what's in the box. That's my sister, that's great, great. My sister's M.O. What? Do you want the box or do you want the curtain? Most people take the curtain. That does it for our mailbag, our first attempt. If the listeners like it, we'll do more of it. Let us know because we'll do more of this. This is really fun. And we're in no shortage of opinions on IMO.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "MICHELLE & CRAIG Answer Your Questions & Talk Housewives, Relationships, & More | IMO"?

Michelle Obama (Host), Craig (Guest).

What is "MICHELLE & CRAIG Answer Your Questions & Talk Housewives, Relationships, & More | IMO" about?

Michelle and Craig engage in a lighthearted discussion addressing listener questions, covering a range of topics including their insights on relationships, memorable moments from reality TV like "Real Housewives," and personal anecdotes. The duo emphasizes their unique dynamic as they reflect on their experiences working together and their evolving friendship.

What is mentioned in this Michelle Obama episode?

11 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Teresa Giudice, Hamnet, John Batiste, Suleika Jawad, Formula One, Chloe Zhao. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "MICHELLE & CRAIG Answer Your Questions & Talk Housewives, Relationships, & More | IMO"?

The episode runs 49 min; the transcript is about 7,517 words in 68 timestamped sections.

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