Barack and Michelle Obama
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Barack and Michelle Obama in 2016
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are 29 years strong.
The former first lady, 57, shared a touching tribute to the former president, 60, on Sunday to mark their 29th wedding anniversary.
“How it started vs. how it’s going,” wrote Michelle. “Happy anniversary, Barack—love you! ❤️????.”
Michelle’s post featured a throwback of the couple lounging on a couch together atop a more recent shot of the pair, again enjoying some quality time on a different couch.
Barack echoed his wife’s sentiments in an Instagram post of his own later Sunday afternoon. “Happy anniversary, Miche! Over the past 29 years, I’ve loved watching the world get to know you not just as a daughter of the South Side, but as a mother, lawyer, executive, author, First Lady, and my best friend,” he shared. “I can’t imagine life without you.”
The couple tied the knot on October 3, 1992, and have since welcomed daughters Malia, 23, and Sasha, 20.
Michelle Obama and Barack Obama
Michelle Obama/Instagram
Last year, Obama and Mrs. Obama used their 28th anniversary tributes to encourage people to vote in the 2020 presidential election between now-President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“This year, we have a request for you — pick one person in your life who might not vote and make sure they do. Tell us about it in the comments! That’s an anniversary message of the best kind. Love you, Barack,” the former first lady wrote in part on Instagram.
Obama similarly shared, “This year, while we appreciate all your well-wishes, what we’d really love is for each of you to reach out to one person in your life who might not vote. Help them get registered. Help them make a plan to cast their ballot. Send them to iwillvote.com to get started. Happy anniversary, Miche. Love you.”
Story continues
Michelle Obama Twitter
Michelle Obama Twitter From left: Barack, Sasha, Malia and Michelle Obama
Speaking to PEOPLE earlier this year, the Obamas discussed their decision to openly speak about “the hard parts” of their marriage in their respective memoirs.
“We didn’t have role models of the hard times because our parents, their generation were taught you don’t talk about marriage and you definitely don’t talk about the hard times,” Mrs. Obama told PEOPLE. “So, when you’re young and coming up and raising a family together, no one has prepared you for the fact that there will be times when you will have to devote your energies to other things.”
Mrs. Obama explained that during her husband’s political career and two-term presidency, they hadn’t quite grasped the roots of their tension.
“You don’t have that hindsight,” she shared. “You don’t have that perspective. All you’re doing is getting through.”
She added, “Thankfully we had a strong enough foundation.”
Barack and Michelle Obama
Albert L. Ortega/WireImage Barack and Michelle Obama
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“Before the White House, before the kids, before careers, it was just me and Barack together shaping our lives, building a friendship, being one another’s everything,” the Becoming author told PEOPLE. “That’s what we were able to return to once the White House was over and the kids were grown and you knew they were okay.”
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Now, married for 29 years, Mrs. Obama said their foundation is “even more solid” after going through their difficulties.
“I am happy to say that I can now look up from all of that and look over across the room and I still see my friend,” she gushed.
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