Speaking on Sophia Bush's Work in Progress podcast, former First Lady Michelle Obama addressed rumors that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, were getting a divorce.
Obama addressed the recent divorce rumors for the first time, while also reflecting on the personal choices she’s made since departing the White House in 2017.
She said:
"The interesting thing is that, when I say 'no,' for the most part people are like, 'I get it, and I'm okay.' That's the thing that we as women, I think...we struggle with disappointing people."
"I mean, so much so that this year people were...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."
"This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? But that's what society does to us. We start actually, finally 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."
You can hear what she said in the audio below.
Many appreciated her remarks and came to her defense.
Obama's remarks are notable considering she was earlier this year criticized by President Donald Trump's supporters following reports she would not attend Trump's inauguration.
At the time, a spokesperson for the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said in a statement that while Obama's husband would attend the ceremony, she would not be present. The Obamas' statement did not provide an explanation for the former first lady’s absence.
The news marked the second instance in two weeks where she skipped a major public event attended by Trump. One week prior, she missed former President Jimmy Carter’s national funeral service, with her advisers citing a scheduling conflict. Had she attended, she would have been seated next to Trump, a situation avoided as her husband took her place alongside the incoming president.
Moreover, Obama has been vocal about her discomfort with politics, despite consistently ranking as one of the most popular Democratic figures in polls asking whom people would like to see run for president.
However, after her husband completed his second term, she firmly dismissed the idea of pursuing public office, stating unequivocally that she had no desire or interest in doing so.
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