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The former FLOTUS told Marie Claire that the couple both had difficulties paying back their student loans. She was asked by the US magazine about why she had previously complained about the cost of summer camps when she had an income of $4.2m in 2007. Michelle responded: Barack and I were paying off our student loans until a very short time ago.

We're lucky that he's had a couple of best-selling books ... but we didn't come from privileged backgrounds.

We both know what it's like to struggle and work hard, and we're not very far removed from families who are doing everything they can to keep up with rising costs.

The former FLOTUS also revealed her bemusement at the way political opponents tried to smear her husband as elitist and out of touch with ordinary working people.

She pointed out that Barack was brought up by a single mother, who constantly struggled to put food on the table, as well as later in life choosing a career dedicated to helping people.

She said: This is the man who grew up not knowing his father, with a young, single mother who he watched struggle to make ends meet even going on food stamps at one point.

And despite the economic struggles that his family went through, Barack turned down lucrative careers on Wall Street and went to work in communities to help folks in need on the South Side of Chicago, helping families who'd been devastated when the local steel plants shut down.

Michelle also recalled how deeply moved and inspired she was by her roundtable meetings with military wives.

She explained: Another story that touched me was when one woman said that every day, she gets up, puts on her pretty face, puts on nice clothes, holds her head high, and keeps her spirits up.

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Michelle talked about how her daughters sometimes struggled to cope with the long absences of their father, and how this turn affected her.

She recalled how after a speech she made at the Democratic Convention, she decided to surprise her daughters with an appearance by Barack, via satellite, on a huge screen.

Michelle said: Well, when he came up on the big screen, Malia instinctively walked up to it and then stopped.

She knew that he wasn't actually there with us; she just wanted to be closer to her father.

And when we got backstage, she cried, because she really misses him and worries about him when he's away from home for such long periods of time.

Moments like that one are the most difficult for me when it comes to the girls.

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Michelle Obama heartbreak: Ex-FLOTUS reveals real struggle she faced with husband Barack - Express.co.uk