'I miss her'

Biden, with an 'almost pained expression,' describes how presidency has affected marriage to Jill

First lady Jill Biden appeared Tuesday on the cover of Vogue, and she and President Biden described how the presidency has made things "harder" in their marriage.

The Bidens were asked whether becoming president and first lady has affected their marriage, and the president acknowledged that it has, with Vogue writing that an "almost pained expression" crossed his face as he explained how.

"I miss her," Biden said. "I'm really proud of her. But it's not like we can just go off like we used to. 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." 

"This life," though, "prevents" that, Biden said. He added that he's "not complaining," and that this is "part of the deal," but "it's just harder." 

"I'll find that I'm working on a hell of an important speech and I'm distracted," he also said. "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! 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."

The first lady agreed with this assessment, telling Vogue, "We're both so busy. And so we have to, I think, try a little harder to make time for one another." 

The president also told Vogue that he never actually wanted to live in the White House, which evidently contributed to his reluctance to run for president. 

"There was no real upside to living physically in the White House," Biden said. "It's the greatest honor in the world ... but there's no privacy." Read more at Vogue.