Barack Obama's surprising admission about Michelle

In his final interview as President, Barack Obama has made a surprising admission about his wife Michelle.

Obama sat down for an exclusive interview with CBS's 60 Minutes to discuss the milestones of his eight years and offered up a few parting words about his successor.

The comments that stood out the most from the hour-long interview was his admission about Michelle's reluctance to be in the spotlight 

"Michelle never fully took to the scrutiny," he said.

"She's thrived as a first lady, but it's not her preference. And so ... she was the hardest sell. And she never fully embraced being in the public spotlight, which is ironic, given how good she is.

"But having said that, she would acknowledge and I certainly feel that we just have a lot of memories here. You know, our kids grew up here. Some of our best friends have been made here in this place. There have been moments that were highlights for us that are going be hard to duplicate."

Even so, Mr Obama acknowledged his wife remained glad he decided to run for president.

"I think I've said this story before," he recalled. "You know, she used to say to our friends, 'Barack's exactly the kind of guy I want to be president. I just wish he didn't want to do it when I was married to him.'"