Michelle Obama has shed new light on the early days of her relationship with Barack, revealing she sent him to play a game of basketball with her brother to determine if he was a good catch.
The former first lady spoke candidly about her decision to introduce Barack to her family alongside her brother, Craig Robinson, for Kelly Ripa‘s new podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera.
The couple have been battling rampant rumors they’re headed for divorce after Michelle’s failure to appear at several high profile political events in January as she seeks to ‘put herself first.’
Michelle said her father and brother had always said they could gauge a man’s character based on the way he played pickup basketball, so when the time came to get serious with her new beau, she wanted him to play a game with Robinson first.
Recalling the moment Michelle asked him for help, Robinson said: ‘She said, ”please, you gotta do this for me. I really like this guy. I wanna know what you think”.’
Initially, Robinson was hesitant.
He was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year on Princeton University’s basketball team, had been drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers (though never played a game in the NBA) and played professionally overseas for two seasons.
‘The guys I played with are like real dudes, real basketball players. You take a guy who can’t play that well around, he’s undoubtedly going to look bad and be talked about,’ Robinson recalled.
But ultimately he agreed, and Robinson took Barack down to the court to play with a team he’d assembled.

Michelle Obama has shed new light on the early days of her relationship with Barack, revealing she sent him to play a game of basketball with her brother to determine if he was a good catch

Michelle said her father and brother had always said they could gauge a man’s character based on the way he played pickup basketball, so when the time came to get serious with her new beau, she wanted him to play a game with Robinson first
‘He was absolutely appropriate,’ Robinson said of the game.
‘In pickup basketball… you can tell if a guy’s got some integrity, because if you foul a guy, you’re supposed to give it up to him. He did that the right way.
‘He took shots that he should take, and he passed the ball when he should. So I could tell he was unselfish.’
Robinson was particularly impressed that Barack was confident enough to stand on his own two feet and didn’t try to suck up to him in an effort to win him over.
After the game, he delivered the good news to his sister, telling her: ‘As far as I can see, he seems like a really decent dude. And he wasn’t a bad player at all.’
Michelle and Barack had met at the law firm where they were both working as associates in the summer of 1989. Michelle had been asked to be Barack’s mentor.
She told Ripa she was ‘picky’ about dating and bringing potential suitors home to meet her family.
‘It wasn’t until I thought that they were presentable that they came around,’ she said.

Michelle and Barack had met at the law firm where they were both working as associates in the summer of 1989. Michelle had been asked to be Barack’s mentor

Robinson was particularly impressed that Barack was confident enough to stand on his own two feet and didn’t try to suck up to him in an effort to win him over. Pictured: The pair at a basketball game in 2015
So Barack’s ability to win approval from her family, including her mom who noted how ‘tall’ he was, went a long way in shoring up their relationship.
‘I liked that my brother respected him, and that helped me see him in a different light,’ she said.
The pair went on to marry in 1992 and recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary.
Michelle’s latest revelations come as she and the former president fend off rumors they’re headed for divorce.
Rumors sparked when Barack attended both Jimmy Carter’s funeral and Trump’s inauguration solo. The events took place just weeks apart in January.
The former first lady said it was a choice she made ‘for herself’ and recently revealed she was shocked it sparked such intense speculation about her marriage.
‘My decision to skip the inauguration… or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism,’ she said.
‘People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart, you know?’

The pair went on to marry in 1992 and recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary.

Barack impressed Robinson, a high-level athlete, during a game of basketball

Michelle’s latest revelations come as she and the former president fend off rumors they’re headed for divorce
She encouraged young women to ‘practise… the art of saying no,’ revealing it is like a ‘muscle [she is] just now starting to build.’
‘After all that I’ve done in this world, if… I still have to show people that I love my country, that I’m doing the right thing… all I’m doing is keeping that crazy bar that our mothers and grandmothers set for us.’
The couple made a show of unity last weekend when they were spotted on a romantic date night at one of their favorite Italian restaurants in Washington DC.
They were all smiles as they made their way through the busy Osteria Mozza in Georgetown on the weekend, stopping to wave at patrons as they swatted away rumors of marital woes.
Barack shook hands with a worker at the Italian eatery, where a main course ranges between $34 to $175.
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