Michelle Obama Addresses Shocking Divorce Rumors
Michelle Obama Denies Divorce Rumors, Admits Marriage Has Been Hard
Former first lady Michelle Obama dismissed rumors of marital trouble with former President Barack Obama during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast on Thursday.
“If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,” she said, directly addressing the speculation.
The rumors gained momentum after Barack Obama attended former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s second inauguration alone.
Podcast host Steven Bartlett said some believed her absence meant “there’s an issue with you and Barack, there’s a divorce coming,” which Michelle responded to with laughter.
“Let me tell you—he would know it,” she said, pointing to her brother Craig Robinson, who joined her for the interview. “And everybody would know it.”
Robinson added jokingly, “If they were having a problem, I’d be doing a podcast with him,” as the Daily Beast reported.
Michelle said she’s not the type to hide problems in her personal life and would likely address them openly if they existed.
“I’m not a martyr,” she said. “I would be problem-solving in public, and be like, ‘Let me tell you what [Barack] did.’”
She explained her absence from Trump’s inauguration was a personal decision, not a sign of tension between her and Barack.
Michelle said the decision was part of learning to say “no” and setting personal boundaries, regardless of public opinion.
“People couldn’t believe that I was saying ‘no’ for any other reason than they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart,” she said.
She acknowledged past struggles in the relationship, referencing a 2022 interview where she said there were “10 years where I couldn’t stand my husband.”
Despite this, she repeated during the podcast that being married is “hard,” but said she “wouldn’t trade it.”
She emphasized that marriage requires continuous effort, including therapy, communication, and renegotiation over time.
Regarding their 32-year marriage, Michelle said, “That’s not who we are. And I know that about him. He knows that about me.”
She admitted there are things she would have handled differently, especially during Barack’s rise in politics while she was focused on raising their daughters.
“We were flying blind,” she said. “I didn’t know what that journey was going to be and what I would need to negotiate for myself.”
Michelle said she should have spoken up earlier about wanting Barack’s political team to respect his family responsibilities.
“I shouldn’t have just said, ‘Well, this is what it takes to get this done,’” she reflected.
Michelle and Barack met in the late 1980s at a law firm and married in 1992.
They have two daughters, Malia and Sasha, both of whom have been kept mostly out of the public eye in recent years.
Barack Obama and Donald Trump were seen seated next to each other at Jimmy Carter’s funeral in December 2024.
Michelle did not attend the event, sparking renewed questions about the state of their relationship.
During the podcast, she said she speaks publicly about marriage to counter what she sees as a tendency to give up too quickly.
“There is so much friction built into the equation,” she said. “Without work, it’s easy to stop trying.”
She referred to Barack as “my person,” reaffirming their commitment to each other despite the ups and downs.
The interview ended with Michelle insisting that any real issue would not be kept secret, saying, “You’d know.”
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