https://www.essence.com/news/michelle-obama-reveals-melania-trump-gift-inauguration

Remember Melania Trump’s awkward gift exchange with Michelle Obama on Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day? Well, the former first lady has finally revealed what was inside that Tiffany & Co. box.

If you recall, the already clumsy greeting between the Trumps and Obamas that morning was made even more uncomfortable when Trump presented Obama with the blue present. At the time, Mrs. Obama’s face was all of us, and the meme-able moment quickly went viral.

via GIPHY

During an appearance on Ellen — Mrs. Obama’s first TV interview since leaving the White House — she opened up about the story behind the meme.

“It was a lovely frame,” Obama tells DeGeneres in the preview clip of their sit-down interview set to air on Thursday (Feb. 1).

So what was going through Obama’s mind when Mrs. Trump, who was noticeably a few paces behind her husband, presented her the blue box?

[brightcove id=5689544782001]

“Well, there’s all this protocol,” she explains. “I mean, this is like a state visit, so they tell you that you’re going to do this, they’re going to stand here. Never before do you get this gift, so I’m sort of like, ‘Okay, what am I supposed to do with this gift?’”

Thankfully, Barack Obama helped to calm the cringeworthy hand-off.

“And then my husband saved the day – see he grabbed the box and took it back inside.”