Barack and Michelle Obama celebrate 28-year marriage with urge to vote: 'That’s an anniversary message of the best kind'

Barack and Michelle Obama don’t want congratulations on their 28th wedding anniversary — they want you to vote instead.

On Saturday, the former president posted a photo of the couple deep in laughter. “Even with everything going on, I wanted to take a moment to say happy anniversary to the love of my life,” wrote Barack, 59. “Every day with @MichelleObama makes me a better husband, a better father, and a better human.”

He added, “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.” Barack encouraged his fans to visit I Will Vote, a voter registration website by the Democratic National Committee.

“Happy anniversary, Miche,” he wrote. “Love you.”

The former first lady posted her own photo. “8 years with this one,” she wrote. “I love @BarackObama for his smile, his character, and his compassion. So grateful to have him as a partner through everything life throws at us.”

The 56-year-old also plugged the website: “And 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 two Harvard Law School grads married in 1992 after meeting at a Chicago law firm two years prior, where Michelle was Barack’s boss. Impressed by Michelle’s height and beauty, Barack asked her out on a date, according to The Oprah Magazine. Michelle refused the offer (although Barack kept trying), explaining in her 2018 memoir Becoming, “Not once, though, did I think about him as someone I’d want to date.”

However, she finally agreed to give Barack a chance. “I treated her to the finest ice cream Baskin-Robbins had to offer, our dinner table doubling as the curb. I kissed her, and it tasted like chocolate,” Barack told the magazine. They wed at a Chicago church and are parents to daughters Malia, 22 and Sasha, 19, who have largely ducked the spotlight since their father’s two-term presidency.

Last month, Michelle shared with Jennifer Lopez on Instagram that Malia and Sasha (who attend Harvard University and the University of Michigan respectively) were quarantined at their Washington, DC family home. "I'm just glad that they're staying put, even if they're sick of me," said Michelle. The interview was part of Michelle’s Sept. 22 National Voter Registration Day campaign to encourage voting in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

But this week, campaign season got more chaotic, as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were both diagnosed with COVID-19. The president, who had fatigue, congestion and a cough, is now hospitalized at Maryland’s Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and was treated with experimental drugs remdesivir and another from the company Regeneron. Melania has a headache and cough.

According to a Saturday update from his medical team, the president no longer has a fever. Trump also tweeted that he was feeling “well.”

The Obamas sent their best — on Friday, Barack tweeted, “Michelle and I hope that the President, First Lady, and all those affected by the coronavirus around the country are getting the care they need and are on the path to a speedy recovery.”

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