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By Andrew Stanton
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Former first lady Michelle Obama addressed rumors that she is divorcing former President Barack Obama during a podcast appearance on Wednesday.
Newsweek reached out to the Obama Presidential Center via email for comment.
Why It Matters
President Obama served in the White House from 2009 to 2017. Rumors and speculation have been circulating that the couple may be divorcing after Michelle Obama was absent from recent public appearances.
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What to Know
Michelle Obama addressed the rumors during an interview on Work in Progress with Sophia Bush released on Wednesday.
"When I say no, for the most part people are like, I get it. And that's the thing we as women struggle with, is disappointing people. So much so that this year, people couldn't fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume my husband and I were divorcing," she said.
She continued, "This couldn't be a grown woman making a set of decisions for herself. But that's what society does to us. We start actually going, 'What am I doing?' You know? And if it doesn't fit into the stereotype of what people think we should do then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible."
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Just days earlier, Barack Obama said during a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper that he was in a "deep deficit with my wife" after leaving the White House, according to The Daily Beast.
"So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things," the former president added.
The rumors grew after she did not attend former President Jimmy Carter's funeral last year or President Donald Trump's inauguration in January.
What People Are Saying
Sophia Bush, responding to Michelle Obama on the podcast: "There's always got to be drama if it doesn't look like other peoples' choices. I think for you, really for both of you, I think as a viewer from the outside but a person who has been honored to know you for a long time, I'm just like, 'God, look at them being happy. I love this. You're back and forth to Hawaii? Please, let my life be so dramatic on my 61st birthday.'"
Meghan McCain, on her Citizen McCain podcast earlier this year: "I have been hearing this rumor that the Obamas are getting a divorced by reputable people...very serious journalists telling me that they're hearing that the Obama divorce rumors are true."
Former President Barack Obama wrote in a January 17 post on X, formerly Twitter: "Happy birthday to the love of my life, @MichelleObama. You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I'm so lucky to be able to take on life's adventures with you. Love you!"
What Happens Next
Whether Michelle Obama's remarks put an end to the divorce rumors remains to be seen.
Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan are the only U.S. presidents who have ever been divorced.
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