Michelle Obama says Barack wanted a third child and reveals the reason she didn’t

Michelle Obama says she was only ever interested in being a family of four, but Barack wanted one more baby.

Speaking to Kylie Kelce in the most recent episode of her podcast Not Gonna Lie, the former first lady said her husband suggested having a third child, and she shot the idea down.

“I was like, I think I've been lucky with these two,” she said of their two daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23. “Barack was like, ‘We should have a third,’ and I was like, ‘Dude.’”

Kylie, 32, who’s expecting her fourth child with her husband Jason soon, agreed she would’ve said the same thing if she were her.

“Two good sleepers, I'd call it too,” Kylie told the 61-year-old mother.

Michelle added: “You know, I'm thinking we're gonna get a crazy one.”

Reflecting on her experience giving birth to Malia and Sasha, the Becoming author said: “I think the sadness or the postpartum that I felt with my kids really came from, like, you love these babies so much.

“You immediately, you're connected, and you think, ‘Oh my god, all you have is me. I feel so bad for you. I wish you had a parent,’” she noted.

Later in the interview, Michelle spoke about how she believes it’s a good thing Barack is strictly a girl dad. “I told Barack, ‘Dude you need a bunch of women in your life to smack you around,’” she said.

Ahead of the 2024 election, there were calls from the Democrats for Michelle to run for president after her husband served two consecutive terms. However, her office quickly made it clear that she wouldn’t be running.

“As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Crystal Carson, director of communications for Michelle, said in a statement sent to NBC News at the time. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”

Speaking to Kylie, Michelle expanded on her decision not to run, explaining she wanted to protect her children.

“I wanted them to have the freedom of not having the eyes of the world on them and so when people ask me would I ever run, the answer is no,” she said. “If you ask me that, then you have absolutely no idea the sacrifice that your kids make when your parents are in that role.

“The thought of, like, putting my girls back into that spotlight when they are just now establishing themselves,” Michelle added. “I think we've done enough… they've already served their time.”

When Barack was first elected President of the United States in 2009, Malia and Sasha were 10 and seven, respectively. They would spend the next eight years of their lives living in the White House.

Since their dad exited office in 2017, Malia has graduated from Harvard University, and Sasha has graduated from the University of Southern California.