Michelle Obama is defining her life on her own terms, and that means saying no more often.
Now eight years removed from the White House, the former first lady has become less present in the political arena. That decision to step back from the Washington spotlight was intentional, too.
The author of “Becoming” spoke during the August 2024 Democratic National Convention as well as during a campaign stop for then presidential hopeful Kamala Harris. But since the former vice president’s loss to Donald Trump last November, Michelle has steered clear of public events.
Barack Obama was noticeably solo for late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and Trump’s inauguration in January. In the April 23 episode of her and her brother Craig Robinson’s “In My Opinion” podcast, Michelle, 60, put the rumors and speculation about her absences to rest.
“My decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism, like, people couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart,” she told Robinson and guest Taraji P. Henson.
The Obamas have been married for 32 years. In recent months, countless reports fueled speculation of a looming divorce. The couple has not given the false claims any credence.
In her book, Michelle Obama said she would never forgive Trump for putting her husband’s life at risk with his Birther bs. She didn’t even want to be at his first inauguration but as the sitting FLOTUS she had to be there, now she is under no obligation to attend pic.twitter.com/svnoqkYSsR
— NoChillMood🪷 (@ritaag) January 15, 2025
The mother to adult daughters Sasha and Malia went on to insist that she was focused on “making the choice that was right for me. And it took everything in my power to not do the thing that was ‘right’… That was a hard thing for me to do. I had to basically trick myself out of it, and it started with not having anything to wear.”
First it was just a rumor.
— MAGA Resource (@MAGAResource) March 9, 2025
Now Megyn Kelly discusses that the Obamas may actually be getting a divorce pic.twitter.com/q58pPqLjZg
The ever-prepared public figure went as far as to orchestrate not having the proper attire on hand for the occasion. “I travel with clothes just in case something pops off,” she shared. Michelle further recalled deciding, “If I’m not going to do this thing, I gotta tell my team I don’t even wanna have a dress ready.”
Her admission was met with a range of reactions from supporters and critics. One person commented, “Her husband showed up, & was, as always, very respectful. I felt a little bad for him, going it ‘alone’.”
A second individual remarked, “I’m sure President Trump didn’t lose any sleep over this! His wife is a beauty.”
A third said, “Melanie Trump, don’t ever show up, but people are OK with that. Michelle Obama has given Americans enough. It’s time for Michelle to take care of herself.”
After Donald Trump lost his 2020 reelection bid for a second term, he and his wife Melania Trump chose to skip Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.
