On Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama made her final talk show appearance as FLOTUS on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It was so funny and sweet and touching. I did a lot of that thing where you laugh and then quickly transition into a cry a la this kid:
Her appearance was comprised of four perfect segments because she’s perfect and occasionally the world makes sense. So grab a tissue and lose your dignity because I’m going to walk you through them all.
Number one! This was just a normal interview. Easy peasy, so innocent, no reason whatsoever to cry! Until she said this: “It’s nuts I feel like crying right now,” at which point all bets were off. “It’s been surprising emotional for all of us in ways we didn’t expect,” she told Fallon, while we all pretended she was referring to “us” as her collective family.
Number two! This was a setup wherein people were invited to share a goodbye/thank you message to a photo of Michelle Obama hanging on the wall but — PLOT TWIST — she and Fallon were waiting behind the wall watching. Whenever the person was almost through with their speech, she would come out and thank them in person, much to their shock and joy. Your eyelids are now floodgates.
Number three! Michelle and Jimmy played a round of “catchphrase” with Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Chapelle, which is kind of like charades but less complicated. The best part was when Jimmy tried to get Michelle to say “dad jeans” by saying “Your husband wore these at the pitcher’s mound!” She guessed “mom jeans” first (shout out mom jeans), which really tickled me for some reason. Ugh, they’re so cute. Oops crying again, bye.
Number four! Jimmy and Michelle penned thank-you notes for her final days in the White House. The segment starts with Jimmy worrying about how comfortable Michelle appears behind his desk, prompting all of us to be like, “Yes, we are also comfortable with this. Bye Jimmy.” My personal fave was Jimmy’s second letter, which read: “Thank you, Mrs. Obama for being a strong, smart, independent woman, an activist, a style icon and a great dancer, showing us all would it would look like if Beyonce had married a much nerdier Jay-Z.” Her response: “That’s my boo! Mom jeans and all!”
Okay I’m going to go cry in private now. You never forget your first love, after all. I mean lady.
Photo by Andrew Lipovsky/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images.
