Although it may have been her husband that seemed to receive all the attention, since he was the president of the United States, Michelle Obama was a star in her own right.

She gave us her own words of hope, inspiring change that women the world over can believe in.

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When interviewed back in 2009, Michelle Obama gave some of the best dating advice that we may have ever heard at least from a celeb, that is.

She explained, "Cute's good. But cute only lasts for so long, and then it's, 'Who are you as a person?' That's the advice I would give to women: Don't look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul. Look at how the guy treats his mother and what he says about women. How he acts with children he doesn't know. And, more important, how does he treat you?" 

She went on to say, "When you're dating a man, you should always feel good. You should never feel less than. You should never doubt yourself. You shouldn't be in a relationship with somebody who doesn't make you completely happy and make you feel whole. And if you're in that relationship and you're dating, then my advice is, don't get married."

She sure knows what she's talking about, which got us thinking: What have other First Ladies said about love and relationships? Here are a few nuggets of relationship wisdom from former First Ladies of the United States.

Laura Bush's advice

"George and I have learned one important thing: whatever happens in life, we handle it," she said in an interview.

Hillary Clinton's advice

Clinton once said, "You have to be true to yourself. You have to be enough in touch with who you are and what you want, how you want to live and what's important to you, to make your decisions based on that. Sometimes that's very difficult."

Nancy Reagan's advice

Reagan once wrote about her husband, "One of the things my life has taught me is how important it is to try to say, 'I love you' in ways that can be preserved, looked at, and read when you are alone or when there is adversity or when circumstances bring separation.

In any case, saying 'I love you' is one of the 'secrets' of the happy marriage that Ronnie and I have shared. Ronnie's letters move me to this day. They are his gift to me across the years, and throughout the decades of love."

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Betty Ford's advice

Ford said, "You go into it, both of you, as a seventy-thirty proposition. In other words, here I'm giving seventy, he can give thirty, he's giving seventy, I give thirty. When you're going overboard trying to please each other, you can't help but be happy."

Jackie Kennedy Onassis' advice 

Onassis had words for multiple marriages: "The first time you marry for love, the second for money, and the third for companionship."

Abigail Adams's advice

"However brilliant a woman's talents may be, she ought never shine at the expense of her husband," she's known to have said.

And another bit of love wisdom from Obama?

Last year, Michelle Obama treated us to some more great tidbits about love:

“Marriage is a choice you make every day. You don’t do it because it’s easy. You do it because you believe in it. You believe in the other person. And ladies and gentleman, that’s why it’s so important to marry somebody that you respect.

It’s important to marry somebody who is your equal, and to marry somebody and to be with somebody who wants you to win as much as you want them to win.”

My husband is my teammate. If we are going to win this game together, he has to be strong and he has to be okay with me being strong. I do not want a weak player on my team, nor does he.

But sometimes, we accept weak in one another because it feels easy. And be cautious of the man or woman who wants just the easy person.”

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Claire Daniel is a love and entertainment writer. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in November 2009 and was updated with the latest information.