Former first lady Michelle Obama has shut down rumors that she and her husband, Barack, are headed for divorce.
During an appearance on Sophia Bush’s “Work In Progress” podcast Wednesday (April 9), Michelle dispelled the rumors, blaming the rampant speculation on her decision to exercise her newfound independence.
“The interesting thing is that, when I say ‘no,’ for the most part people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m OK,’” Michelle said of her decision to turn down key invitations.
“And that’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people. 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.”
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The former first lady, 61, was a regular presence on the campaign trail for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
However, she did not join her husband at the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter. She was also visibly absent from President Trump’s inauguration in January, fueling speculation about her marriage.
“But that’s what society does to us,” Michelle continued. “We actually finally start 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.”
Michelle shared that she is now more in control of her calendar since she’s no longer bound by White House duties or the demands of parenting as daughters Malia, 26 and Sasha, 23, have officially flown the coop.
“It’s whatever I want,” she said. “It’s also a little scary because as a mom and a busy person I always had — it was somebody else’s excuse. Why didn’t I do this? Why haven’t I gone there? Well, I have to make sure the girls are OK, or my husband’s president, so I can’t do that.”
“I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year. It 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.”
The IMO podcast host added that she’s reached a point in life where it’s “time to make some big girl decisions” — and to “own it fully.”
“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.”
“So what does it look like? It looks like whatever I want it to look like. And I still find time to give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls’ education,” Michelle added.
