As a former First Daughter, there’s been interest in who Malia Obama is dating now and what she’s been up to since her family left the White House.
Malia—the eldest daughter of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama—was last linked to her Harvard University classmate, Rory Farquharson, whom she started dating in 2017 and split from in the past few years. Now, there seems to be a new man in Malia’s life. In photographs obtained by Page Six, Malia, 24, was seen on what seemed to be a date with music producer Dawit Eklund, 33, in Los Angeles. The two were photographed at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art on August 4, 2022, where Malia was seen in a white crop top and loose-fitting green pants, while Dawit wore a beige T-shirt and green shorts with a photo of Bob Marley on the left leg. The two were also photographed hugging, with Dawit’s hand resting on Malia’s waist as she caressed the back of his neck.
Dawit is the co-founder of the record label 1432 R in Washington D.C., where Malia lived from January 2009 to January 2017 when her father was President of the United States. The Daily Mail also reports that Dawit’s father is retired State Department officer Jon Eklund, who worked at multiple U.S. embassies in Africa. His mother, Yeshi Eklund, is from Ethiopia. According to The Daily Mail, Malia and Dawit’s recent outing if their third public date after they were seen grabbing lunch together on July 26, 2022, and going on a walk around Los Angeles on August 2, 2022.
Along with Malia, Barack and Michelle also share daughter Sasha, who is dating Clifton Power Jr., the son of actor Clifton Powell. Michelle confirmed the relationship in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in April 2022. “They loved the Jonas Brothers. Now they are bringing grown men home,” she said of her daughters at the time. “Before it was just, like, pop bands. Now they have boyfriends and real lives.”
In an interview on “The Bill Simmons” podcast in 2020, Barack opened up about what it was like to quarantine with Malia and her most recent boyfriend, Rory Farquharson. “He’s British. Wonderful young man, and he was sort of stuck because there was a whole visa thing and he had a job set up,” he said. “So we took him in, and I didn’t want to like him, but he’s a good kid. The only thing you discover . . . young men eat! It’s weird to watch them consume food. My grocery bill went up about 30 percent.”
He also discussed what the family did while in quarantine. “Like I think a lot of families, we went through that first month where we were playing games every night and doing a little arts and crafts projects and then slowly, they started to get a little bored with us,” he said. Barack also told InStyle in November 2020 about how “badass” Malia has become. “Malia, she is just buoyant. She’s somebody who enjoys people, enjoys life, and enjoys conversation,” he said at the time. “She’s never bored, which is a badass quality that can take you places.”