![EXCLUSIVE: Former First Lady Michelle Obama steps out with friends Bruce Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa at celebrity restaurant Polo Bar in New York City. The two families have been friends since The Boss campaigned for Barack Obama during his successful run for the White House in 2008. Michelle famously told her President husband he needed to spend more time with Springsteen. Both men have talked about their friendship — fortified in part by the bond between their wives, Michelle and Patti. In the first episode of a podcast, called Renegades, Obama, 59, said he and Springsteen, 71, "grew to trust each other" based on conversations in which they reflected on feeling "invisible" throughout their childhoods. Springsteen sang with a gospel choir at the newly elected president's inauguration in 2009 and later recalled how he thought Obama had the wrong number the first time the Chicago Democrat called him. "And I said, 'OK, let me figure this out. I am a guitar-playing high school graduate from Freehold, New Jersey. And — OK — you want me to do what?" Springsteen said. Over the years, both have realized they had more in common than they initially realized. Namely, that they both felt like outsiders. "I always kept one foot in sort of the blue collar world and one foot in the counter culture world," Springsteen said of growing up in New Jersey. "And I never truly belonged completely in either of them, you know?". 28 Sep 2022 Pictured: Michelle Obama. Photo credit: ZapatA/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA902427_026.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://preprod.hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/michelle-obama-nyc-mega.jpg?quality=100&w=293)
Michelle Obama, 58, proved she can pull off casual and fancy looks during her weekend outings in the Big Apple! The former first lady was photographed coming out of The Pierre hotel in a gray vest over a black sleeveless top and gray cropped pants with snakeskin print sneakers on the afternoon of June 11. The next day, she was also spotted in an all black ensemble that included a button-down shirt over a matching top, flowing pants, and platform shoes.
Michelle attended a matinee showing of the Broadway show A Strange Loop with some of her girl pals and looked as happy as could be. For her more casual outfit, she accessorized with several necklaces and hoop earrings as her long hair was down and she held a black clutch purse. At one point, she also wore a black face mask, and for the all black ensemble, she added sunglasses to her look.
The beauty was reportedly surrounded by Secret Service and was escorted to her destinations by NYPD police officers. Some of her friends could also be seen by her side as they were also dressed to impress. The show they saw, A Strange Loop, is about a black gay man trying to write a musical about a black gay man and is one of the frontrunners to win Best New Musical at Sunday night’s Tony Awards.
Before Michelle turned heads during her recent outing in NYC, she did so for giving a shout-out to her youngest daughter Sasha on her 21st birthday. The doting mom shared an adorable photo of her and the birthday girl when she was just a baby and added a loving caption to it. “My baby has grown into a beautiful, independent, compassionate, highly capable young woman,” she wrote on Instagram. “But you will always be my littlest pea. 🥲❤️ I’m so proud of the human you are becoming. Love, your Mommy.”
Like Michelle, her husband Barack Obama shared a sweet birthday message for Sasha as well. “Happy birthday, Sasha! I have loved watching you grow into the intelligent, beautiful, and caring young woman you’ve become,” the former president wrote alongside a photo of him and a baby Sasha. “And no matter how old you get—you’ll always be my baby girl. Look at those cheeks!”