Michelle’s Brother Didn’t Think Relationship With Barack Would Last

Still, the two have been the subject of divorce rumors for months. And Barack Obama delivered a remarkably candid admission regarding the state of his marriage to Michelle Obama in a recent interview. “I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” Barack told Hamilton College President Steven Tepper in a conversation. “So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.” The former president has previously stated that his relationship with the former first lady suffered during his consecutive terms in office from 2009 to 2017. “Let me just say this: It sure helps to be out of the White House and to have a little more time with her,” Barack said in a May 2023 interview, making sure to praise Michelle for being “forgiving” of his shortcomings.

Michelle Obama, meanwhile, responded to a surge of speculation about her marriage, stating unequivocally that recent personal decisions have nothing to do with her separation from the former president. During an appearance on Sophia Bush’s Work in Progress podcast, the former first lady explained why she was withdrawing from certain public appearances, presenting them as purposeful choices for her well-being rather than signals of marital dysfunction. “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, you know, 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,” Michelle said. “That this couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?” she continued. Obama added, “That’s what society does to us.”