Michelle Obama recently shared a bold personal update: she added 10 new piercings to her ears—all in one session. The former First Lady proudly displayed her newly adorned ears, featuring a ‘constellation’ of stud earrings that gracefully trace her upper earlobes and extend toward the cartilage on both sides.
The former First Lady, 62, made the admission during the latest episode of her IMO podcast with co-host Craig Robinson.
“I’ve always thought about getting some extra piercings in my ear and just never got around to it,” Michelle explained to her audience, shedding light on the motivation behind her decision. She credited the inspiration to the younger members of her family, notably her daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, who have embraced the trend with their own collections of piercings.
In a light-hearted revelation, Michelle shared that it took some time for her husband, former President Barack Obama, to notice her new ear adornments. This change marks her first venture into ear piercing since before her daughters were born, over two decades ago.
Michelle said the decision was inspired by the ‘young people’ in her life, referring to daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, both of whom have numerous piercings.
She also revealed how long it took for her husband, former US president Barack Obama, to notice her new additions.
Michelle Obama revealed that she recently got 10 piercings in her ears in one sitting on the latest episode of her IMO podcast; seen in 2025
Michelle recalled last getting her ears pierced over two decades ago before her and Obama’s daughters were born.
‘I had a second [piercing] hole that I had got before I had kids. But then I just got lazy and stopped putting an earring in it,’ she told Robinson.
‘But nowadays, the young people in my life are doing more piercings. There’s just more beautiful adornment.’
Gesturing to her now-heavily pierced left ear, Michelle said to Robinson, ‘You see there’s more of a cluster. The constellation sort of look.’
While she is happy with her ‘beautiful’ new piercings, Michelle admitted that it was not her plan to get so many in one sitting.
‘So, I was going in for a few and then I did my normal self and was like, “Oh, put one there and put one [there]. Let’s try one there,”‘ she explained.
‘So, in one sitting, I got 10 piercings.’
Robinson winced as he assumed the experience must have been painful for Michelle.
Michelle proudly showed off the ‘constellation’ of stud earrings that are now situated on her upper earlobes and up towards the cartilage on both her left and right ears
‘I have always thought about getting some extra piercings in my ear and just never got around to it,’ she told listeners
But she insisted that it ‘wasn’t bad at all. Not for me.’
Michelle also revealed her husband’s reaction to her new additions. ‘Barack finally noticed. Took him a couple of days,’ she said with a laugh.
According to Michelle, Obama said his reason for not noticing sooner was because of a recent change in his wife’s hairstyle.
‘And he was like, “You haven’t had your hair up. You’ve had your hair down.” And I was like, “Hmmm, I don’t know. I sleep with you every night, dude.”
‘But he noticed yesterday,’ she added.
Michelle’s piercing reveal comes just weeks after she appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where she criticized the public’s fixation on her physical looks during Obama’s first presidential campaign.
She argued that articles covering her often began with ‘She was wearing,’ rather than focusing on her professional career.
‘It started with appearance,’ she explained. ‘And it got worse as we got better,’ Michelle added, referring to her husband’s campaign.
She also revealed how long it took for her husband, former US president Barack Obama , to notice her new additions
Michelle said the decision was inspired by the ‘young people’ in her life, referring to daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, both of whom have numerous piercings
She went on to say that although she didn’t take the criticisms about her looks personally at first, she was hesitant to lean into her style because she feared she wouldn’t be asked about her role in her husband’s administration.
‘I understood that fashion and appearance for women is so powerful, that if I spent too much time talking about it, maybe nobody would hear anything else that I have to say,’ she confessed.
Critics of Michelle slammed her remarks as ‘hypocritical’ because she was speaking out against society’s obsession with women’s appearances while also promoting a new book she penned about fashion.
It was also pointed out that Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper’s first question to Michelle on the podcast was about her outfit and how she picked it.
‘The jokes write themselves (and a book, as the case may be),’ one commenter penned.
‘But … her own book is about her clothing?’ another questioned.
Michelle’s piercing reveal comes just weeks after her appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where she criticized the public fixation on her appearance during Obama’s first presidential campaign; Michelle and Barack seen in 2009
‘Nothing gets the media and press of your back about your outfits like publishing a book about your outfits and going on podcasts talking about your outfits,’ a third pointed out.
Michelle’s style book, Look, was released last November and includes over 200 photographs of her ‘style evolution.’
Koop, Michelle’s makeup artist Carl Ray, her three hairstylists and multiple designers she’s worked with also wrote for the book.
The Look’s Amazon description reads: ‘Obama’s intimate and candid stories illuminate how her approach to dressing has evolved throughout her life—from the colorful sheath dresses, cardigans, and brooches she wore during her time as First Lady to the bold suits, denim, and braids of her post-White House life and all the active looks and beautiful gowns in between.’
