As Michelle Obama skipped several public events in recent months, rumors began to surface that she and Barack Obama were headed for divorce.
The former First Lady directly addressed those claims during her recent appearance on the podcast “Work in Progress.”
As the Daily Wire reported:
Rumors about marital struggles for the Obamas swirled after Michelle skipped attending former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in December. She also didn’t attend President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, even though her husband was there, as were all the other former first ladies.
“The interesting thing is that, when I say ‘no,’ for the most part people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m okay,’” Michelle said, per E! News. “That’s the thing that we as women, I think …we struggle with disappointing people. I mean, so much so that this year people were … 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.”
“This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?” she continued. “But that’s what society does to us. We start actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible.”
Later, Michelle mentioned that she’s been considering “making some big girl decisions” at this point in her life and understanding that she has to “own it fully.”
Of course, by simply mentioning the rumors and not dispelling them outright, she might have just provided more cause for speculation.
Soooo, they’ve separated already then.
— Karl Harrison (@KarlDHarrison) April 9, 2025
Her remarks came on the heels of recent comments Barack Obama made about their marriage:
Obama’s stunning admission he’s trying to dig out of ‘deep deficit’ with wife Michelle amid divorce rumors https://t.co/uCSeSsb9vR
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) April 4, 2025
Here’s some social media coverage of the controversy from last month:
BREAKING: Michelle and Barack Obama reportedly don’t want to ‘explain their relationship’ to people amid divorce rumors after Michelle Obama took the stage SXSW stage with her brother without Barrack to address rumors.
Michelle Obama recently took the SXSW stage in Austin,… pic.twitter.com/C9JdXrzoTl
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 29, 2025
The full text from the post above follows:
BREAKING: Michelle and Barack Obama reportedly don’t want to ‘explain their relationship’ to people amid divorce rumors after Michelle Obama took the stage SXSW stage with her brother without Barrack to address rumors.
Michelle Obama recently took the SXSW stage in Austin, Texas, with candour and outlined her new podcast, ‘In My Opinion,’ which she co-hosts with her brother Craig Robinson.
We’re dealing with a lot of uncertainties,” Michelle explained. “People always ask me and Barack, how did we stay hopeful in, not just the eight years in the White House, but beyond? Because, let me tell you, there was a lot of negative energy flipping our way, a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip….”
“The Obamas have been through so much that, at this point, they feel no need to publicly address that kind of talk,” an onlooker In Touch Weekly.
“The last thing either of them wants to do is try to explain their relationship to people.”
Lately, Michelle’s absence from several public events, including Jimmy Carter’s funeral on January 9 and Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, sparked speculation about their marriage.
Despite Barack’s Instagram post for her birthday in January and Valentine’s Day in February, speculation has swirled that the couple might be headed for a divorce.
Speculation about their relationship had swirled for years, particularly amid claims about the former president’s sexuality.
According to a 2023 report from The National Desk, a 21-year-old Barack Obama sent his then-girlfriend a revealing letter:
“In regard to homosexuality, I must say that I believe this is an attempt to remove oneself from the present, a refusal perhaps to perpetuate the endless farce of earthly life,” Obama, then 21, wrote in November 1982. ”You see, I make love to men daily, but in the imagination.”
The letter, now stored at Emory University, was sent by a 21-year-old Obama to Alex McNear. The two dated during Obama’s year at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
My mind is androgynous to a great extent and I hope to make it more so until I can think in terms of people, not women as opposed to men,” Obama continued. “But, in returning to the body, I see that I have been made a man, and physically in life, I choose to accept that contingency.”
And here’s some coverage of Michelle Obama’s latest podcast appearance:
.https://youtu.be/1aJienZNJsw