--- title: Watch Barack Obama Surprise Michelle With Anniversary Video description: “It is truly the best decision that I ever made to be persistent enough in asking you out for a date” canonical: https://time.com/4968387/barack-michelle-obama-wedding-anniversary-tribute/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-04T03:05:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:45.340Z og:title: Watch Barack Obama's Sweet Anniversary Tribute to Michelle og:description: He made the former First Lady blush og:url: https://time.com/4968387/barack-michelle-obama-wedding-anniversary-tribute/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b77a6c7a572b2e/6988e079929fad3e72bedf13/gettyimages-857172594.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pennsylvania Conference For Women 2017 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Barack Obama's Sweet Anniversary Tribute to Michelle twitter:description: He made the former First Lady blush twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b77a6c7a572b2e/6988e079929fad3e72bedf13/gettyimages-857172594.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'The Best Decision I Ever Made.' Watch Barack Obama's Surprise Anniversary Video for Michelle by [Tierney McAfee / PEOPLE](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Tierney McAfee / PEOPLE Contributor Oct 4, 2017 3:05 AM UTC  Michelle Obama speaks during Pennsylvania Conference For Women 2017 in Philadelphia, Oct. 3, 2017. Michelle Obama speaks during Pennsylvania Conference For Women 2017 in Philadelphia, Oct. 3, 2017.Marla Aufmuth—Getty Images for Pennsylvania Conference for Women by [Tierney McAfee / PEOPLE](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Tierney McAfee / PEOPLE Contributor Oct 4, 2017 3:05 AM UTC [Barack Obama](http://people.com/tag/barack-obama/) sure knows how to make a grand gesture. The former president sent wife [Michelle Obama](http://people.com/tag/michelle-obama/) a sweet video message on their [25th wedding anniversary](http://time.com/4967027/michelle-obama-25-anniversary/) on Tuesday, surprising her during her talk with [Shonda Rhimes](http://people.com/tag/shonda-rhimes/) at the Pennsylvania Conference for Women in Philadelphia. Appearing on a big screen, Obama first apologized for “crashing” the conference before launching into a loving tribute that brought tears to his wife’s eyes — and color to her cheeks. “I had to crash this party because today we have been married for 25 years,” Obama said. “The idea that you would put up with me for a quarter of a century is a remarkable testament to what a saintly, wonderful, patient person you are.” “It was a lot easier for me to do it,” he added with a smile, “because the fact of the matter is that not only have you been an extraordinary partner, not only have you been a great friend, somebody who could always make me laugh, somebody who would always make sure that I was following what I thought was right, but you have also been an example to our daughters and to the entire country.” The former first lady teared up as her husband praised her “strength, grace, determination and honesty.” “It’s no wonder that as people got to know you the way that I got to know you, they fell in love,” he added. The former president also said he appreciated “the fact that you look so good” doing all of this. “It is truly the best decision that I ever made to be persistent enough in asking you out for a date,” he said. Mrs. Obama was blushing by the time her husband concluded the lengthy tribute. She turned to Rhimes and the crowd and joked: “I better get home.” The former president later posted his video on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/videos/10155303917731749/), captioning it: “Asking you to go out with me is the best decision I ever made. I love you, Michelle.” Earlier on Tuesday, Mrs. Obama sent her husband and “best friend” a [happy anniversary message](http://people.com/politics/michelle-obama-barack-obama-25th-anniversary-instagram/) on Instagram, sharing a photo from their Chicago wedding on Oct. 3, 1992. “Happy 25th anniversary [@barackobama](https://www.instagram.com/barackobama/),” she wrote alongside the shot. “A quarter of a century later, you’re still my best friend & the most extraordinary man I know. I (heart) you.” _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/politics/barack-obama-michelle-25th-wedding-anniversary-tribute-conference/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com)_._ Watch Barack Obama Surprise Michelle With Anniversary Video ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4968387/barack-michelle-obama-wedding-anniversary-tribute/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4968387/barack-michelle-obama-wedding-anniversary-tribute/"},"headline":"'The Best Decision I Ever Made.' Watch Barack Obama's Surprise Anniversary Video for Michelle","datePublished":"2017-10-04T03:05:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:45.340Z","description":"“It is truly the best decision that I ever made to be persistent enough in asking you out for a date”","url":"https://time.com/4968387/barack-michelle-obama-wedding-anniversary-tribute/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Barack Obama","Michelle Obama","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b77a6c7a572b2e/6988e079929fad3e72bedf13/gettyimages-857172594.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tierney McAfee / PEOPLE"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68b77a6c7a572b2e/6988e079929fad3e72bedf13/gettyimages-857172594.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pennsylvania Conference For Women 2017","caption":"Pennsylvania Conference For Women 2017","creditText":"Marla Aufmuth—Getty Images for Pennsylvania Conference for Women","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4968387/barack-michelle-obama-wedding-anniversary-tribute/","name":"'The Best Decision I Ever Made.' Watch Barack Obama's Surprise Anniversary Video for Michelle"}}]}] ```