MICHELLE Obama has finally broken her silence on rumors of marriage troubles between her and Barack.
The former first lady opened up about her relationship with her husband after she refused to join him at Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
YouTube/Michelle ObamaMichelle Obama has opened up about her marriage in a new episode of Sophia Bush’s podcast[/caption]
X / BarackObamaBarack Obama shared a picture of the two on her birthday that sparked speculation about their marriage[/caption]
GettySophia and Michelle spoke at the SXSW Let Girls Learn Panel on March 16, 2016, in Austin, Texas[/caption]
Concerns that the Obamas were heading for divorce started when Michelle, 61, was noticeably missing from her husband’s side at the funeral in December.
All living former presidents were in attendance at the funeral with their wives – but Michelle was nowhere to be found.
It was later revealed that she had been on vacation in Hawaii during the event, which was a shocking blow toward the fellow first family.
Michelle raised more eyebrows when she was absent from Trump’s inauguration in January.
After months of speculation, the former first lady finally addressed the absences in an episode of actress Sophia Bush’s podcast, Work in Progress.
During the episode, Michelle revealed that she skipped the high-profile political events simply because she wanted to.
“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people,” Michelle said.
“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 said people questioned “that this couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?”
Michelle also bashed rumors about her marriage troubles on the new episode and said it’s “what society does to us.”
Since leaving the White House in 2016, the former first lady has been more focused on making decisions for herself, she said on the episode.
“So you know, now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of who do I truly want to be every day,” Michelle said, adding it looks like “whatever I want it to look like.”
She said she finds the time to give speeches and advocate for education for girls, which she focused on in her role as first lady.
RUMORS ABOUND
Michelle and Barack have been married since 1992, but in recent years, they haven’t been making as many public appearances.
Aside from her absences, people wondered if the two were having troubles when Barack posted a picture of the two on Michelle’s birthday that social media users thought was questionable.
In the picture, the two were sitting far away from each other in what looked like a basement for a celebratory dinner.
Plus, Michelle was pictured in serious conversation with her brother, Craig Robinson, in February with Barack nowhere to be found, according to a source who exclusively spoke with The U.S. Sun.
Trouble in paradise?
Divorce rumors involving Barack and Michelle Obama have swirled online in recent months.
The rumors first emerged when Michelle Obama missed former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral on January 9.
Barack Obama attended the funeral alone and sat next to all the former presidents and first ladies.
Michelle Obama then skipped President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, and gave no reason for her absence.
Barack Obama was caught on video arriving at the inauguration alone and sat next to former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush.
On February 21, Michelle and her older brother, Craig Robinson, were spotted enjoying dinner at a Los Angeles hotspot without Barack Obama.
The former president was pictured courtside at the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons game on March 5.
Obama was seated between Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie, but Michelle was nowhere in sight.
Robinson and Michelle launched their own podcast with two episodes on March 12.
In her podcast’s debut, she admitted previous marriage struggles with Barack – and some of her problems stemmed from his lateness.
Michelle joked that Barack was consistently late to plans because he got ready too late.
“He’s improved over 30 years of marriage, but that was a ‘you must adjust,’” she said.
‘DEEP DEFICIT’
Barack also joked that he was in a “deep deficit” with his wife after eight years of their marriage were overtaken by his two presidencies.
In a conversation with Hamilton College president Steven Tepper on Thursday, the former president said he was writing his book and planning dates with Michelle to make up for lost time.
“Look, I was in a deep deficit with my wife, so I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,” Barack said.
Michelle has previously opened up about marital issues during Barack’s time as president and when their two grown daughters, Malia and Sasha, were just children.
“People think I’m being catty by saying this – it’s like, there were 10 years where I couldn’t stand my husband,” Michelle admitted during an interview on Revolt TV.
“And guess when it happened? When those kids were little.”
The bestselling author said that marriage is never even, and that there were times one of them may have put more effort in than the other.
“I would take 10 bad years over 30, it’s just how you look at it,” she said in the 2023 interview.
GettyBarack and Michelle shared a warm embrace at the Democratic National Convention in August[/caption]
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