--- title: Barack Obama Surprised Michelle Obama for Her Birthday description: Barack Obama surprised his wife Michelle Obama with a sweet gift on her 54th birthday, reconfirming that they're relationship goals. canonical: https://time.com/5106965/barack-obama-michelle-obama-birthday/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-17T22:14:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:46:27.781Z og:title: Here's How Barack Obama Surprised Michelle for Her Birthday og:description: Relationship goals og:url: https://time.com/5106965/barack-obama-michelle-obama-birthday/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37aa713142f4607b/6988f8938fd2ee46ca35a5bd/barack-obama-michelle-obama-birthday.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Former President Obama And First Lady Michelle Host Inaugural Obama Foundation Summit In Chicago og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Barack Obama Surprised Michelle for Her Birthday twitter:description: Relationship goals twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37aa713142f4607b/6988f8938fd2ee46ca35a5bd/barack-obama-michelle-obama-birthday.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Barack Obama Gave Michelle Obama a Romantic Surprise for Her 54th Birthday > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8408c82e-4e25-4aa1-8b3c-1e44eb54a87b&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: First Lady Michelle Obama Through The Years [Watch (HLS stream): First Lady Michelle Obama Through The Years](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Yi5W1wnI.m3u8) (1:25)  _Published 2017-01-17. Watch Michelle Obama's best moments as FLOTUS throughout her eight years in the White House._  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 17, 2018 10:14 PM UTC Watch Michelle Obama's best moments as FLOTUS throughout her eight years in the White House.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 17, 2018 10:14 PM UTC [Barack](http://time.com/4616866/barack-obama-administration-look-back-history-achievements/) and [Michelle Obama](http://time.com/4632217/michelle-obama-influential-fashion/)‘s relationship has been [a love story for the ages](http://time.com/barack-michelle-obama-love-story-photos/), something that was only confirmed further by the former president’s romantic surprise for his wife on her birthday. Michelle, who turned 54 on Wednesday, took to her [Instagram](http://time.com/3801406/obamas-photographer-joins-instagram/) to share that Barack had sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to her office that morning. In the caption for the post, the former first lady only fondly remembered the adventures that the two had shared together, telling her husband that he was “best friend, biggest fan, and getting notes and flowers from you will never get old.” Michelle also used the post to thank the many people who had send her cards and social media salutations, noting that they all reminded her of “how lucky and blessed we are.” See the complete post below. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We want our children and all children in this nation to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them. Let's move! Let's move! Let's move! Doing the impossible is the history of this nation. Just keep moving. Folks marched and protested for our right to vote. Make no mistake about it. Casting our vote is the ultimate way we go high when they go low. Like most women, I know How it feels to be overlooked, to be underestimated. Talent and effort, combined with our various backgrounds and life experiences has always been the lifeblood of our singular American genius. I hope that more of our girls and our boys Here in the U. S will learn about the sacrifices girls worldwide are making to get their education. I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. Lead. Lead by example with hope, never fear. Being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life. And I hope I've made you proud. 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