Happy 25th anniversary @barackobama. A quarter of a century later, you’re still my best friend & the most extraordinary man I know. I 💕 you.
Former President Barack Obama and wife, Michelle, celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary today.
The pair, who both graduated from Harvard Law, met in 1989 while working at Sidley & Austin, a law firm in Chicago where Michelle had just finished her first year and Barack was a summer associate.
“He sounded too good to be true,” Michelle told Obama biographer David Mendell. “I had dated a lot of brothers who had this kind of reputation coming in, so I figured he was one of these smooth brothers who could talk straight and impress people. So we had lunch, and he had this bad sport jacket and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and I thought: ‘Oh, here you go. Here’s this good-looking, smooth-talking guy. I’ve been down this road before.'”
Michelle was assigned to be Barack’s mentor, and he began to regularly ask her on dates, which she refused out of worry that they would be judged for becoming a couple as the only two black people at the law firm. A partner at the firm, Newton Minow, has since clarified that that the two were among around six black employees at the time. “I think they were a little embarrassed,” he said.
These days, the two are far from embarrassed about publicly displaying their love for each other. During their eight years in the White House, the press captured innumerable photos of the two hugging, kissing or generally sharing an intimate moment in front of a crowd or a camera.
Here are some of the best photos of Barack and Michelle Obama’s love story during their tenure in Washington:
GettyU.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama dance during the Public Inaugural Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama was sworn in for his second term earlier in the day. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
US President Barack Obama embraces First Lady Michelle Obama after speaking during a campaign event at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, September 7, 2012. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/GettyImages)
GettyDemocratic Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) gives his wife Michelle a playful kiss as they tour the Iowa State Fair August 16, 2007 in Des Moines, Iowa. The fair runs until August 19th and is expected to draw about 1 million people. John Edwards also made a campaign stop at the fair today. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
GettyU.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk in the inaugural parade following his inauguration as the 44th President of the United States of America on January 20, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Obama is the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the history of the U.S. (Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
GettyUS President and former Illinois senator Barack Obama embraces his wife US first lady Michelle Obama after he presented Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics, on October 2, 2009 in Copenhagen. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on the destiny of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games after a final round battle. AFP PHOTO / POOL – CHARLES DHARAPAK (Photo credit should read CHARLES DHARAPAK/AFP/Getty Images)
GettyFormer President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama hug Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden following the inauguration of President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2017. President-Elect Donald Trump was sworn-in as the 45th President. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch – Pool/Getty Images)
GettyIn this handout from the White House, U.S. President President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama ride in a golf cart an Inaugural ball January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images)
GettyUS Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obamais welcomed by his wife Michelle and daughter Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7, upon landing in Pueblo, Colorado, November 01, 2008. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
GettyU.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama dance together during the Comander-in-Chief’s Inaugural Ball at the Walter Washington Convention Center January 21, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama was sworn-in for his second term of office earlier in the day. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
GettyDemocratic presidential candidate US Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle celebrate during his election night rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the end of 2008 Democratic party primaries on June 03, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama plunged into a five-month election battle with Republican John McCain after making history by becoming the first black presidential nominee of a major US party. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel Dunand (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
GettyU.S. President Barack Obama laughs with first lady Michelle Obama as they appear on the ‘Kiss Cam’ as the US Senior Men’s National Team and Brazil play during a pre-Olympic exhibition basketball game at the Verizon Center on July 16, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leslie E. Kossoff-Pool/Getty Images)
GettyDemocratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is hugged by his wife Michelle Obama before his speech at a primary night rally in the gymnasium at the Nashua South High School on January 8, 2008 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Obama finished a projected 2nd place behind Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the nation’s first democratic primary (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
GettyIn this handout provide by the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama (R) hugs First Lady Michelle Obama in the Red Room while Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett (L) smiles prior to the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) at the White House on March 20, 2009 in Washington, DC. Obama is serving as the 44th President of the U.S. and the first African-American to be elected to the office of President in the history of the United States. (Photo by Pete Souza/White House via Getty Images)
GettyUS First Lady Michelle Obama touches the nose of US President Barack Obama before he welcomes Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the White House on August 2, 2016 in Washington, DC.
GettyUS president-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle embrace on stage during Obama’s election night victory rally at Grant Park on November 4, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois. Americans emphatically elected Democrat Obama as their first black president in a transformational election which will reshape US politics and the US role on the world stage.
GettyDemocratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) (R) and his wife Michelle Obama bump fists at an election night rally at the Xcel Energy Center June 3, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Obama clinched the Democratic presidential nomination following today’s primaries in South Dakota and Montana, although his rival Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has not yet conceded the race. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
GettyUS President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama read Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” to children at the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016. Some 35,000 guests have been invited to participate in the 138th annual Easter Egg roll. The theme of the day’s event is Let’s Celebrate! / AFP / Nicholas Kamm (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)