Although Obama and Michelle have rarely shown affection together in the past two years, the couple is still regarded as a model couple in the political world. After all, it is indeed rare for them to have almost no quarrels or scandals after 33 years of marriage.
But what few people know is that Michelle was never Obama’s original choice. It can even be said that Obama’s initial choice of Michelle was based on some utilitarian factors.
If not, the person who ends up getting together with Obama is likely to be his white Dutch girlfriend, Sheila Jager.
In 1983, after graduating from Columbia University, Obama worked in an unremarkable white-collar job in New York.
At that time, Obama was responsible for writing business-related articles, and his salary was not bad. He was full of uncertainty about the future, and was not much different from his peers.
Compared with his ordinary life, Obama's private life is very exciting.
At a Christmas party in 1983, Obama accidentally met a private school teacher, Veneve Cook, who was 3 years older than Obama.
The young Obama was confident, handsome, and well-spoken. After Obama took the initiative to strike up a conversation, Vanessa also became interested in him.
About a week later, Obama and Verneuve established a formal relationship.
In Verneuve's diary, she called the affair "the deepest romantic relationship of my young life."
Obama also took the relationship seriously, and he and Vanessa discussed many race-related topics.
Obama once admitted to Vanessa that he felt like there was barely a "black bone" in his body (Obama was raised by white grandparents).
The relationship between Obama and Vanessa lasted for more than 2 years. After Obama moved from New York to Chicago in the summer of 1985, the relationship officially ended.
After moving to Chicago, Obama's new career was that of a community worker. This job had some charitable nature, so the salary was naturally far lower than that of a business writer in New York.
Moving to a new city and starting over is naturally not easy.
At a party, Obama complained to his friends that he had been without a girlfriend for almost a year.
However, Obama's single life did not last long. In mid-1986, at a dinner party with friends, Obama met a white Dutch girl, Sheila Jager.
With the encouragement of friends, Obama and Sheila quickly came together. Not long after the two established a formal relationship, Sheila moved in with Obama in his small apartment.
The small apartment holds many precious memories for the two, such as their shared cat named Max.
Obama was initially very fond of Max, but he soon changed his mind because the cat always liked to pee on his favorite potted plants.
In the winter of 1986, Hillary took Obama home to meet her parents.
Sheila's initial idea was just to let Obama meet his parents, but Obama had different ideas.
At dinner, Obama proposed to Sheila in front of her parents.
Sheila was full of hesitations about Obama's proposal. After all, the two had only known each other for 6 months at the time, and she was not sure whether Obama would be the person she was entrusted with.
In the end, it was Sheila's parents who broke the deadlock and rejected Obama's proposal.
However, the reason given by Sheila's parents was not because of Obama's race, but because they believed that both of them were too young and not ready to get married.
In fact, the rebuttal of Sheila’s parents did not raise much of a problem. Sheila was 23 years old and Obama was 25 years old at the time. Both of them had just graduated from college and lacked the material foundation to start a family and start a business.
However, Sheila's parents did not stop the two from continuing to interact. Obama seemed to have gradually let go of this setback, and his relationship with Sheila remained loving and harmonious.
The turning point came in 1987. According to Sheila's later recollection, Obama gradually became ambitious. He believed that he had a unique mission, and to achieve this mission, he must fully identify himself as an African-American.
A friend of Obama's explanation was more straightforward: As a biracial man, Obama is not black enough to be with his white wife.
In the fall of 1988, on the eve of Obama entering Harvard Law School, Obama proposed to Sheila again and invited Sheila to move to Massachusetts to live together.
However, facing Obama's second proposal, Sheila refused without hesitation.
Sheila believes that Obama's second proposal was entirely out of "despair of separation" rather than confidence in the future of the two.
To put it bluntly, this is more of an excuse to alleviate his guilt.
After the two broke up, in fact, neither Sheila nor Obama really let go of their relationship, and the two still maintained a close connection.
Later, Sheila told Obama biographer David Garrow that she remained deeply in love with him long after they separated.
Obama later admitted that the period after the breakup was "the most difficult transition period in his life."
After a year of further study at Harvard Law School, Obama entered an internship at an elite law firm, where he also met his future wife Michelle.
Obama and Michelle began dating in 1989, although he still maintained a close relationship with Sheila at the time.
It was not until 1991, when Obama received his doctorate from Harvard Law School and became engaged to Michelle, that the relationship between Obama and Sheila officially ended.
After ending her relationship with Obama, Sheila later met a Korean historian named Kim, and the two eventually came to an end. Currently, Sheila and her husband are both professors at Oberlin College.
The sincere relationship between Sheila and Obama was ultimately defeated by racial factors, but after Obama married Michelle, he realized his ideal.
If not, Obama's eventual wife is likely to be Sheila, not Michelle.
I just don’t know if Obama ever regretted his decision after he became famous.
