Michelle Obama talks about Malia and Sasha and their changes over the years

Michelle Obama has revealed some of her family dynamics, and the differences between her daughters, Malia and Sasha. In an appearance on “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast, Michelle got real about family and shared some advice on living better and being happier.

Michelle was talking about her girls’ teenage years and how much they’ve matured with time, using Sasha and Malia’s relationship with their father as an example. “You know, the difference in when they were teenagers, when Malia would say ‘Alright, I’m going out this weekend. I think I need to go in and give Dad like 15 minutes,’” Michelle shared. “She would go into the Treaty Room in the White House and she’d ask him, ‘So tell me about Syria.’”

Michelle recalled how that would impress Barack Obama, achieving Malia’s goal, which was to get permission to leave without having her dad asking too many questions. “That’s some jiu-jitsu on you,” said Michelle with a laugh. It was the opposite with Sasha. “The Sasha shows up and Sasha’s totally like, ‘Don’t touch me. Don’t look my way. I don’t need to please you. You’re annoying.’” Michelle shared that that was difficult for Obama to deal with, but that luckily the two got over it with time and are close. “They just go off the phone last night,” said Michelle. “She called him looking for advice. It just took her longer.”

Sasha and Malia are currently in their 20s, and are both based in Los Angeles, where Sasha is studying at the University of Southern California, and Malia is pursuing her career in screenwriting. The two are living together, which is something that makes their mother happy.

“You try not to react too much because it’s like, you don’t want to go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so happy for you!’ because then they think, ‘Well, maybe this is not a good thing if my mom likes it,’” she said to People. “It feels good to know that the two girls you raised find solace at a kitchen table with one another. It’s like the one thing you want for them.”