Michelle Obama is keeping it real about her favorite guilty pleasure and it turns out she is a die-hard Bravo fan. On the July 30 episode of her IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson podcast, the former first lady revealed just how deep her love for reality TV goes while chatting with Las Culturistas hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers.
For Michelle, “culture is king,” and she enjoys educating her brother Craig Robinson and her husband Barack Obama about it. That includes giving them updates on every Real Housewives franchise.
“The truth is that they razz me about my love of reality TV and the Real Housewives. I watch it all all of it,” she admitted. Lately, she has been especially fascinated with what she calls the “New York gen babies.”
She was talking about Bravo’s new show Next Gen NYC, which follows the children of Real Housewives stars along with a few newcomers. “I watched the first two episodes, and I am just like, ‘Oh, they are starting the babies off early,’” she said with a laugh.
Rogers described the young cast as “the princes and princesses of Bravo” being tested to see if they “are worth their salt when the camera is fixed on them.” Michelle agreed with a simple, “Right.”
Yang mentioned that watching can be “really tricky,” and Michelle did not disagree. “It is, but it is juice. It is tea,” she said.
She went on to explain why she sees reality television as more than just entertainment. To her, it is a kind of social experiment. “There’s drama in sports. If I listen to ESPN for an hour, it is like watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. You know It is the same drama, and they are yelling at each other, and they do not get along,” she said.
Michelle even compared sports commentators to Bravo personalities, singling out ESPN’s Stephen A Smith. “I mean, Stephen A Smith, he is just like every other talk show host,” she said. “I am like, ‘What’s the difference’ It is just sociological drama. The fact that people over seasons of working together still cannot get along, they still have the same arguments and it is not just women, but this happens in sports too.”
In her view, the tension on a basketball court or football field is not all that different from the drama unfolding at a Real Housewives reunion. Both have rivalries, egos, and high-stakes moments that keep audiences hooked.
Her confession proves that even someone who has spent years in the White House can enjoy a little reality TV chaos. And while Barack and Craig may tease her about it, Michelle clearly has no plans to give up her front-row seat to the drama anytime soon.