Michelle Obama addresses divorce rumours after missing out on recent political events

Former US first lady Michelle Obama notably missed out on US President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January and was also missing from the state funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter.

Former US President Barack Obama’s presence in these events without his wife sparked rumours of a divorce.

In a podcast titled 'Work in Progress' with actress Sophia Bush that aired on Tuesday, she discussed the guilt of saying no and how her recent choices to step away from certain responsibilities raised rumours of a possible divorce from her husband.

Michelle Obama expressed her feelings by stating “I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom.”

“Maybe 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 added.

She has been open about how Barack Obama’s time in the Oval Office was taxing on their marriage. In her book Becoming, she talks about how her husband’s political life caused loneliness and exhaustion in her life.

She and her husband have been together for 32 years, according to a post from the former president, Barack Obama, on X in October.

She explained how society puts more expectations on women and “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 explained how her actions were a part of having an opportunity to control her own calendar and how she can now “make a choice for herself”

She clarified that she will continue to be involved in politics by saying “I still find time to, you know, give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls’ education.” In the 2024 elections, Obama campaigned against Trump and campaigned for former vice-president Kamala Harris.

In a campaign for Kamala Harris last year she said “Please, please do not hand our fates over to the likes of Trump, who knows nothing about us, who has shown deep contempt for us.”

She added: “Because a vote for him is a vote against us, against our health, against our worth.”