Jill Biden Shared How Hard It Is To Find Time With Joe And It's So Bittersweet

As a fierce advocate for accessible education, a college professor — and oh yeah — the first lady of the United States, it’s safe to say that Jill Biden is a booked and busy woman. But while she spends the majority of her days fulfilling the duties of her various roles, she admits she doesn’t have much time to invest in her personal life. In an interview with Vogue, Jill Biden shared how hard it is to find time with Joe, and it's such a bittersweet reality.

The interview, published as Vogue’s cover story on June 29, explored Biden’s daily life after stepping into her role as FLOTUS, and touched on how the presidency has affected her relationship with Joe. “We’re both so busy [now],” she stated. “And so we have to, I think, try a little harder to make time for one another.”

Before moving into the White House, the couple had plenty of moments to steal away with one another. “It’s not like we can just go off like we used to,” Joe confided to the publication. While they were living in Delaware, they would take monthly getaways to local bed-and-breakfasts, “to make sure we had a romantic time,” he added. Now, however, their days are filled with important speeches and other major political events, making it practically impossible to spend quality time with one another (at least, not without penning it into their schedules). “I miss her,” Joe says of his wife. “I’m really proud of her, but it’s not like we can just go off like we used to.”

However, when it comes to romantic gestures, they both admit it’s the little things that count: “We have to figure out a way — and I mean this sincerely — to be able to steal time for one another,” Joe said. “I think that’s the deal.” And Biden enjoys every bit of quality time she gets to spend with her husband, even if it’s something as simple as eating 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.” After being married for nearly 44 years, it seems like that romantic fire is still burning bright.

The connection is extra sweet because apparently, Jill Biden has not always been a fan of the idea of her husband running for the presidency — it’s no secret that the demands of the White House can do a number on individuals’ personal lives. Per The New York Times, in 2003, Biden opposed the idea of a run so much that during a strategy session for a potential campaign, she paraded through the room in a swimsuit with the word “NO” written on her stomach. Before the 2020 election, however, she understood how important it was for Joe to pursue the presidency, and fully supported him throughout his campaign — even though she knew how demanding the role would be. She even pulled back from her duties as a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, where she had been teaching for a decade, to join her husband on the campaign trail.

So while the hustle and bustle of the White House definitely doesn’t seem like the most charming setting to spend time with a loved one, it seems like the Bidens are making the best of it. Now, they’re proving once again that it’s not where you’re at that matters: it’s who you’re with.