Michelle Obama and her older brother, Craig Robinson, has opened up about the death of their beloved mother, Marian Robinson, and how it has shifted their roles within the family.

During the Wednesday, May 7 episode of the IMO podcast with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, the former First Lady, 61, shared a personal reflection on the loss, including a candid conversation she had with her husband, former President Barack Obama.

“I guess if anything, with mom’s loss, I think that that — thank God you’re my big brother and I have a husband who’s older,” Michelle said.

“Barack was saying, you know, ‘Well, you’re next up.’ I was like, ‘I’m not really ready to be next up.’ I told him, ‘You’re next up and Craig is next up.’ I delegate that power to you.”

Marian Robinson passed away in May 2024 at the age of 86.

Michelle had confirmed the news in a heartfelt social media post at the time.

Their father, Fraser C. Robinson III, died in 1991 at age 55.

Reflecting further on their mother’s passing, Michelle spoke about the emotional weight of stepping into a new role within the family.

“That’s really when you become an adult, is when your parents are not in that spot of managing and maintaining,” she said.

“But that’s going to happen at some point where each of us in our own lives, we become the parent, we become the convener, we become the glue.”

Michelle and Craig, 63, acknowledged that filling the void left by their parents has not been easy.

“It’s a major shift in your life,” Michelle continued. “I don’t care how old you get. Mom and dad are mom and dad. Even when I was taking care of mom, I still gotta listen to her. I can sort of boss her around but in the end, she’s my mother.”

She added, “There’s a comfort level in that, knowing that no matter how wise or experienced I am in the world, mom always knew more.”

The loss, Michelle noted, comes with a “big dose” of reality—especially when one isn’t prepared. But in their case, Marian Robinson made sure they were.

“The listeners should know that mom’s been threatening to drop dead for 20 years,” Craig shared lightheartedly.

“She has been preparing us for this. So, she left very direct instructions on what she wanted and how she wanted things to be. We had to take that into account.”

Michelle explained that their mother had asked for a simple service.

“She didn’t want anything fancy,” Michelle said. “She wanted a few people.”

She also made sure her brother’s wishes were considered in the planning.

“I was concerned about making sure that you, my brother, felt seen in our decisions to memorialize her, because it becomes a production,” she said.

Craig acknowledged that he did feel seen.

“As we both know, mom wanted it, like, ‘I don’t want an hour and a half memorial.’ I think she was worried about the time, she was worried about the amount of money we spent on it,” Craig added.

“She wanted to make sure that family was going to be involved, and you made sure all of that took place.”

Vanguard News