During a recent appearance on actress Sophia Bush’s Work in Progress podcast, Michelle Obama openly discussed persistent divorce rumors and her not attending high-profile political gatherings. Looking back at her life eight years since departing the White House, Michelle opened up about finding personal growth and prioritizing herself.
She acknowledged that for years, she procrastinated on making some decisions, often citing being a mother as a reason. “I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom. Perhaps 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 told the podcast.
As her daughters are already grown, Michelle reported that she is finally able to do what she wants. Pointing to a recent instance this year, she said, “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.”
Her failure to attend significant events like President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral in January had fueled speculations. Some even harbored such speculation involving marital problems.
Michelle Address Rumors
Michelle spoke against these rumors, noting how women tend to have difficulty prioritizing themselves without guilt. “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, you know they couldn’t even imagine that I was making a choice for myself that they had to think that my husband and I are getting divorced,” she said.
During the commotion, former President Barack Obama shared a sweet message to Michelle on Valentine’s Day, further putting the rumors to rest. “Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away. Happy Valentine’s Day, @MichelleObama!” he wrote on X.
Michelle has earlier accepted the difficulties that accompanied her husband’s presidency. She reminisced on the emotional stress in her memoir Becoming, citing times characterized by exhaustion and loneliness during Barack Obama’s political career.
