The former First Lady of the United States has shared her thoughts on the public’s reaction to her personal choices, noting that people couldn’t imagine she was “making a choice” for herself, leading them to speculate that she might be divorcing Barack Obama.
Oh, the wonders of social media, where speculation and rumors frequently arise, with the latest being that the Obamas’ marriage is in trouble.
Michelle and Barack Obama were married in 1992, and while Barack has acknowledged the challenges their marriage faced during their time in the White House from 2009 to 2017, does this mean they are considering separation anytime soon?
Michelle discussed her relationship and her life changes after leaving the role of First Lady during an episode of Sophia Bush’s iHeart Radio podcast Work in Progress, which aired on April 8.
The 61-year-old reflected on how, since leaving the White House, she is making choices for herself for the “first time” in her life.
Michelle confessed that she has learned not to “blame [her] decisions and indecisions on anyone other than” herself, having previously used her daughters or husband’s presidency as reasons to avoid making decisions.
She explained, “I think if I’m honest with myself, I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago. But I didn’t give myself that freedom.”
She attributes this to a broader societal issue, recognizing that women often “struggle with disappointing people,” and revealing that divorce rumors emerged when people observed her “making a choice for [herself]” and couldn’t “even fathom” it.
“They had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,” she added. “This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right?”
Michelle noted that “that’s what society does to us”; it makes people question their identity, actions, and motivations.
“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,” she continued.
Michelle’s remarks align with Barack’s own reflections on their marriage and its evolution over the years—particularly after their time in the White House—shared with College President Steven Tepper.
The former president admitted he was “in a deep deficit” with Michelle and has been “trying to dig [himself] out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”