Why Malia Obama's Boyfriend Lived With Her Family During COVID Lockdown

Living with your girlfriend's parents during a global pandemic is enough to make even the most steel-nerved a bit on edge — now, imagine that those parents also happen to be the former president and first lady of the United States. It might sound straight out of a rom-com flick (or a nightmare, depending on who you ask), but for Malia Obama's boyfriend, it was all too real back in 2020. 

Malia's mother, former First Lady Michelle Obama, shared the family's quarantine experience on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" (via Us Weekly ), describing how she, Barack, Sasha, and Malia hunkered down together during the COVID-19 lockdown. And, thanks to complications with Malia's British beau Rory Farquharson's visa, the fellow Harvard alum and producer also became part of this presidential social bubble. 

The pressure of staying in your girlfriend's world leader parents' good graces aside, it seems like the Obamas and Farquharson got along well while quarantining together.

The Obamas might have the unique credit of being former White House residents, but their lockdown experience wasn't all that different from the average family's. Barack and Michelle tried to keep things fun while in COVID quarantine with game nights, arts and crafts, and even teaching their daughters and Malia's boyfriend how to play spades. 

"He's British," the former first lady said of Farquharson, "[a] 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." 

Indeed, it can be challenging for any parent to watch their little girls grow into full-fledged adults with their own lives, interests, and relationships. But as Michelle Obama told Robin Roberts in a "20/20" special (per US Weekly), she's proud of the women Malia and Sasha have become. "They're good, decent, normal young women who are trying to be impactful in the world, and they are the best of friends — couldn't ask for anything else."

Though Malia and Sasha Obama keep their personal lives fairly private, sightings of Malia and Ethiopian American music producer Dawit Eklund suggest that the daughter of former President Barack Obama has since split with her former British beau. The Daily Mail shared exclusive photos of the pair in 2022 as they walked side-by-side in Los Angeles.

Malia's little sister Sasha's boyfriend is Clifton Powell Jr., the son of actor Clifton Powell, who famously played Jeff Brown in the 2004 biopic of Ray Charles, "Ray." Sasha and her beau are thought to have met after she transferred to the University of Southern California in 2021.

How Barack and Michelle feel about their daughters dating is about how any other parents might — lovingly concerned but overwhelmingly confident in the judgment of the children they raised. Speaking to Roberts on the "20/20" special, Michelle said, "I think it's wonderful. I want them to know what they want and who they are in a relationship, and that takes trying on some people." As for Dad? "He's learned how to be a concerned Black father, but not crazy," revealed Michelle.