Michelle Obama Addresses Divorce Rumors, 32 Years Since Getting Married

Former first lady Michelle Obama has broken her silence on her recent absence from political events and rumors about problems in her marriage with former US President Barack Obama.

The couple turned heads in January when Michelle skipped the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, while Barack attended.

Days later, she confirmed she wouldn’t attend Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration either, which fueled rumors that she and Barack were splitting up.

In a podcast released on Tuesday April 7, Michelle Obama said she had taken a step back and was making time for herself.

Michelle Obama on Divorce Rumors

Speaking on the “Work in Progress” podcast with actress Sophia Bush, the former first lady discussed the guilt she felt when saying no and how her recent choices to step away from certain responsibilities sparked rumors of a possible divorce from her husband, Barack Obama.

“I still find time to you know, give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls’ education. We, you know, the library is opening in a year from now. Certain things I am and am not doing with the library,” Obama said.

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The former first lady shared that when she says “no,” most people respond with understanding, often saying, “I get it, and I’m OK.”

“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, 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 added.

“This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? But that’s what society does to us. We start actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’”

Obama’s wife added that if a decision doesn’t fit into the stereotype of what people think women should do, it gets labeled as something negative and horrible.

Obama’s Wife Reveals Reason for Her Absence in Political Events

At the same time, Michelle Obama revealed that eight years after leaving the White House and with her two children now adults, she finally has the chance to control her own schedule and make “a choice for herself.”

Obama stated that she could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but she didn’t give herself 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.”

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Michelle’s remarks came days after Barack made a candid revelation about their relationship.

During a talk at Hamilton College on April 3, he explained how his presidency affected their marriage of 32 years.

“I was in a deep deficit with my wife. I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,” he said.

The former first lady has also been open about how Obama’s political ambitions and time in the Oval Office were tough on their marriage, writing in her book Becoming that it led to feelings of loneliness and exhaustion.

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