Barack Obama Proposed To Another Woman Before Meeting Wife Michelle

Barack Obama proposed to another woman before he met his wife, Michelle.

The former president of the United States dated a few women before he met and married Michelle. According to David Maraniss’ 2012 biography “Barack Obama: The Story,” the ex-POTUS’ “deepest romantic relationship of his young life” was Genevieve Cook. They met in 1983 after he graduated from Columbia. But when she told him, “I love you,” he only said, “Thank you.”

Cook remembered Barack as a “virtuous daily jogger” and a disciplined writer. In 1985, Barack met Sheila Miyoshi Jagger, a PhD student at the University of Chicago. However, according to the author, their relationship ended much like the one with Cook.

In David Garrow’s “Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama” book, he revealed that Barack proposed to Jagger in 1986.

“Very sweet lady, as busy as I am, and so temperamentally well-suited,” Barack wrote to a friend.

“Not that there are no strains. I’m not really accustomed to having another person underfoot the whole time, and there are moments where I miss the solitude of a bachelor's life. On the other hand, winter's fast approaching, and it is nice to have someone to come home to after a late night's work. Compromises, compromises.”

Jagger admitted that in the winter of 1986, Barack asked her to marry him when they visited her parents. However, her parents didn’t think it was time. Jagger’s mom liked Barack but felt that she was too young. Meanwhile, her father didn’t think that he was worthy, so Jagger told Barack, “Not yet.”

Barack and Jagger stayed together for almost two more years before they parted ways. According Jagger, she witnessed how her then-boyfriend was becoming “someone quite extraordinary.”

“He already had his sights on becoming president,” Jagger recalled but she felt that he became “brooding, quiet, distant—and it was only then, as I recall, that he began to talk about entering politics and race became a big issue between us.” Barack and Jagger eventually separated.

Michelle and Barack met in 1989 when the former was assigned as the latter’s mentor in their law firm. According to the ex-FLOTUS, they both went to Harvard and the firm thought of hooking them up.

Michelle and Barack have been married for 27 years already. According to Michelle, they work on their marriage and get help when needed.