Former President Barack Obama revealed that his eldest daughter’s boyfriend had an extended stay with the family at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, under quarantine-like parameters. During a new interview on the Bill Simmons Podcast, Obama said that he enjoyed spending time with 22-year-old Malia and 19-year-old Sasha when the country locked down in the spring. He let it slip that Malia’s boyfriend, Rory Farquharson, was in the house as well.
Malia has been linked to her fellow Harvard University student Farquharson since 2017, though they tend to stay out of the public eye when possible. Obama was remarking on how he and his family passed the time in quarantine when he confirmed that Farquharson was with them. When Simmons asked why, Obama explained: “He’s British, wonderful young man. And he was sort of stuck because there was a whole visa thing and he had a job set up, so we took him in. And I didn’t want to like him but he’s a good kid.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Obama had no real complaints about hosting his daughter’s boyfriend throughout that time period, but he had one hilarious observation coming from the father of two daughters. He said: “This is not a surprise to you Bill because you’ve got a son, [but] young men eat like, it’s weird to watch them consume food. And my grocery bill went up about thirty percent.”
With or without Farquharson, Obama clearly loved having his whole family back together for a part of this year. The reunion allowed him some optimism while the country suffered through the coronavirus pandemic. He was even grateful for the timing, since his daughters are no longer teenagers who might chafe at social distancing.
“It’s a blessing because all the teenage stuff is kind of gone now and they’re just back, and they love you again and they want to spend time with you, he said. “And they’re funny. Like I think a lot of families, we went through that first month where we were playing games every night and doing a little arts and crafts projects and then slowly they started to get a little bored with us. Maybe teaching Malia and Sasha, and Malia’s boyfriend, who was with us for a little while, Spades.”
Obama eventually left those quarantine-like conditions to help campaign for his former vice president Joe Biden. However, he has continued to encourage Americans to listen to the advice of public health officials and practice social distancing whenever possible.
