"We have to, I think, try a little harder to make time for one another," says Dr. Jill Biden, talking about how she's had to adapt her marriage with her husband to fit their new life.
Being the President and the First Lady of the United States is guaranteed to shake up the dynamics of life as they knew it before moving to the White House. Busy schedules are only going to get busier and spending time alone amid all the chaos can get challenging. President Joe Biden and wife, Dr. Jill Biden, are no exception to this, and the latter admitted she's had to adapt her marriage with her husband to fit their new life.
In a new Vogue cover story, Dr. Biden, 70, says that the couple tries their best to make time for one another, but it sometimes proves to be a challenge because "we're both so busy."
The only solution in front of them is to try harder and make sure to enjoy and cherish the simple things. "And so we have to, I think, try a little harder to make time for one another," she said. "Even the thing about having dinner together: Sometimes we eat on the balcony; last night we ate in the yellow Oval, upstairs. It's just part of the day that we set apart, and we still light the candles, still have the conversations, still put the phones away."
Being in the White House is forcing them to spend more time apart and President Biden, 78, yearns for his wife. "I miss her. I'm really proud of her. But it's not like we can just go off like we used to," he said. "When we were living in Delaware and married, once a month we'd just go up to a local bed-and-breakfast by ourselves, to make sure we had a romantic time to just get away and hang out with each other."
Even if they travel together, something high-priority pops up, which causes Biden to be distracted. "And doing major events for me…and for the country. And so I'll find that I'm working on a hell of an important speech and I'm distracted. And then I may not be working on one and I want to go and hang out with her, and she's working on an important speech!" he said. "Or grading papers. We have to figure out a way—and I mean this sincerely—to be able to steal time for one another. I think that's the deal."
But despite having busy schedules that leave them with very little time to spend together, President Biden is proud of his wife for everything she's managed to accomplish. In fact, when he saw his wife speak in front of a large crowd for the first time, he thought, "That's my girl. So proud. She would just go do it, and she got better and better."
Dr. Jill Biden is also the first woman to keep working despite being the President's wife. She is an English teacher at Northern Virginia Community College and despite having "a bigger platform," she has no plans to quit her job. Thing is, no one thought she could keep teaching. “I heard that all the time during the campaign,” she said. “Like, ‘No. You’re not going to be able to teach as First lady.’ And I said, ‘Why not? You make things happen, right?’”
“When I became the second lady—and there was so much I wanted to do—I always said, ‘I will never waste this platform.’ What could I give up? That I would want to give up? Nothing," she said. "If anything, I feel like adding more things, but I know it's not possible because you want to stay centered because you want to do things well. And there's so much to do. There is...so. Much. To. Do."
References:
https://www.vogue.com/article/first-lady-dr-jill-biden-profile
https://people.com/politics/jill-joe-biden-reveals-how-the-white-house-has-changed-their-marriage/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Streeter Lecka
