Michelle Obama Addresses Divorce Rumours: ‘Was Making A Choice For Myself’

Former US First Lady Michelle Obama recently opened up about the rumours surrounding her divorce and absence from political events in a podcast.

In a conversation with actress Sophia Bush on the “Work in Progress” podcast, Obama talked about her life eight years after leaving the White House. Obama talked about prioritising herself and reflected on her life eight years after leaving the White House and raising two adult daughters.

Former US First Lady Michelle Obama recently opened up about the rumours surrounding her divorce and absence from political events in a podcast. In a conversation with actress Sophia Bush on the “Work in Progress” podcast, Obama talked about her life eight years after leaving the White House.

Obama talked about prioritising herself and reflected on her life eight years after leaving the White House and raising two adult daughters. “I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom. Maybe even as much as I let my kids live their own lives, I use their lives as an excuse for why I couldn’t do something,” she said.

“And now that’s gone. And so now I have to look at my — I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year, was a real big example of me, myself looking at something that I was supposed to do — you know, without naming names — and I chose to do what was best for me, not what I had to do, not what I thought other people wanted me to do,” added Obama.

Notably, the former First Lady was not present during former President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter in January. She further spoke about how women “struggle with disappointing people”, even when taking a decision for themselves, and addressed rumours about her divorce.

“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with like disappointing people. I mean so much so that this year people were, you know — they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,” she said.

Meanwhile, former US President Barack Obama recently posted a picture on Valentine’s Day with Michelle amid divorce rumours. “Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away. Happy Valentine’s Day, @MichelleObama!” said a post on his X handle.

Michelle Obama has openly reflected on the strain that her husband’s political journey, particularly his presidency, placed on their relationship. In her book “Becoming”, she described periods of deep fatigue and emotional isolation.