Rumors have swirled in recent weeks of a growing tension between former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, as previously reported by The Horn News.
Most notably, things came to a very public head after Michelle refused to attend recent presidential events with her husband — specifically the funeral of the late former President Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Many have since speculated that she and her husband are headed for divorce.
On Wednesday, Michelle finally broke her silence and addressed the alleged rumors of divorce head on.
Michelle Obama finally addressed the rumors that she's splitting from her husband Barack Obama. Here's what she told Sophia Bush on her podcast. https://t.co/RpgQ3asXUB
— StyleCaster (@StyleCaster) April 9, 2025
The former first lady broke her silence on Sophia Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast Wednesday, blaming the rumors of a rocky marriage on 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,’” the mom of two said of her decision to turn down key invitations.
“And that’s the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people,” she continued.
“So much so that people, 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.”
Michelle then addressed the rumors of an impending divorce from Barack, denying the widespread speculation they were on the brink of calling it quits on their three-decade marriage.
She noted that it was unbelievable to some that she could possibly be “a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself.”
“But that’s what society does to us,” she said.
“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 said as part of their marriage, she is now more in control of her calendar since she’s no longer tied to the White House and the couple’s two daughters — Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23 — have grown up and are independent.
“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,” she said.
“Not what I had to do, not what other people wanted me to do, and between you and me, that was an important test for me just as a woman, as an independent person. Because, like all women, I operate from guilt.”
She added, too, that it was “time to make some big girl decisions” in her life — and “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,” Michelle 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,” the ex-first lady added.
One of the projects that she is currently working is a podcast that she launched with her brother, called “IMO.”
According to a press release released by Michelle’s team, the podcast will “give their opinions and candid perspectives to the everyday questions shaping [their] lives, relationships, and the world around [them].”
However, despite the hype around her new venture, initial numbers and viewers for “IMO” have been extremely disappointing.