Former First Lady Michelle Obama has lashed out at the swirling rumors that her marriage has collapsed, but she stopped short of confirming that she’s not getting divorced.
As Slay News has reported, rumors that she and former President Barack Obama are getting divorced have been circulating for months.
Several insiders have claimed that the Democrat power couple has long been separated but continued the charade as a display of unity during the 2024 election.
During a podcast interview published Wednesday, Michelle Obama responded by complaining about the interest in the rumors but failed to confirm or deny whether they are true.
Michelle Obama had attracted attention and even prompted questions about her marriage after skipping recent high-profile events.
She failed to join her husband for President Donald Trump’s inauguration and the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
Barack Obama attended both major events on his own.
She told podcast host Sophia Bush that people believe they are divorcing because of how she spends her time, saying:
“But the interesting thing is that when I say no, for the most part, people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m okay,’ right?
“And 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, 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, you know?
‘This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right?
“But that’s what society does to us.”
This would have been a perfect opportunity to confirm that the rumors were false.
However, Michelle Obama instead chose to move the conversation on.
During the conversation on Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast, the former first lady discussed how she has more opportunities now to do things that she really wants to do.
“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,” she continued.
She said she chose to do what “was best for me,” while saying she operated from “guilt.”
The former first lady also talked about how she’s been making more decisions for herself lately during the podcast conversation.
“Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, ‘Who do I truly want to be every day?’ And that changes,” she said.
“So, who do I want to have a lunch with?
“How long do I want to stay in a place?
“Do I want to travel?
“If a girlfriend calls and says, ‘Let’s go here,’ I can say, ‘Yes, I can.’
“And I’m trying to do that more and more.”
She said she still had time for her own projects and issues like education.
Michelle Obama started her own podcast, “IMO,” alongside her brother Craig Robinson in March.
During the first episode, Obama said her husband needed to adjust to leaving the house on time and being punctual.
“Well, Barack, you know, he had to adjust to what ‘on time’ was,” she told Robinson.
“I’ve got this husband who’s like, when it’s time to leave — it’s 3:00 — he’s getting up and going to the bathroom.
“And I was like, dude, dude, 3:00 departure means you’ve done all that, you know?”
“Don’t start looking for your glasses at the 3:00 departure,” the former first lady said.
“But he’s improved over 30 years of marriage, but that was a ‘you must adjust.’”
READ MORE – Barack Obama Admits Marriage with Michelle Is in a ‘Hole’ amid Divorce Rumors
