Michelle Obama reveals she and Barack lean on Bruce Springsteen and his wife for relationship advice

Michelle Obama has expressed her admiration for a star couple whom she admits she and Barack have leaned on as “couple mentors”.

The 61-year-old made the comment to her “dear friend”, musician Bruce Springsteen, during the latest episode of her podcast IMO.

Springsteen, 75, and wife Patti Scialfa, 71, have been married since 1991 after meeting at a club called The Stone Pony.

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“I marvel at you and Patti, and the work that you all have done,” Michelle told Springsteen on the podcast.

“You and Patti have been couple mentors for me and Barack for quite some time.”

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“[We are] watching you guys do the work, getting advice on how to keep those lines of communication open,” she added.

Michelle spoke of Springsteen and Scialfa having been “powerhouses in their own right” before “merging those lives together”.

Springsteen admitted that his marriage has taken “work”.

“If you want the stability, and if you want the depth of those lifelong friendships and partnerships, you’re not going to get it without working at it,” he explained.

He likened it to the work he put in to learning the guitar and the “thousands of hours” he put into it, then realising that same effort needs to go into a successful relationship.

Springsteen and Scialfa share three children – Evan, 34, Jessica, 33, and Samuel, 31.

The couple are now grandparents too.

Their youngest son, Sam, 28, and his wife Alexandra welcomed daughter Lily Harper Springsteen, born in 2022.

They have navigated some serious challenges throughout their marriage.

The couple revealed Scialfa had been battling a serious form of blood cancer for six years in 2024.

This forced her to take a step back from their beloved band the E Street Band.

”She’s doing good,” Springsteen said at the time. “We caught it early, which was important.”

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Michelle and Barack Obama marked their 32nd wedding anniversary in October 2024.

But despite been plagued by divorce rumours of late, she has been taking to social media to share their special milestones and show they are stronger than ever.

Most recently the couple took to their Instagram accounts for daughter Sasha’s 24th birthday on June 10.

Their eldest daughter, Malia, turns 27 on July 4.

Michelle spoke about attending couple’s therapy with Barack during an episode of Jay Shetty’s podcast On Purpose.

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Sasha and Malia Obama through the years

“I believe in therapy, I believe in couple’s therapy, I believe in it all,” she told Shetty.

“Whatever works for you.”

Barack Obama served as US President from 2009 until 2017, with Michelle by his side as First Lady.

Since leaving politics, the pair have been forging their own paths, Michelle with her podcast and Barack attending key political events such as Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 and the funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter that same month.

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