Since Michelle Obama left the White House and her two adult daughters left her house, she’s been enjoying her newfound independence so much that it’s led to rumors that something is amiss between her and her husband, former President Barack Obama.
The 61-year-old former first lady opened up about how she spends her time these days and the scrutiny her marriage has received recently during an appearance on the April 8 episode of Sophia Bush’s iHeart Radio podcast, “Work in Progress.”
The topic arose when Bush inquired about Obama’s social life post-White House.
“It is whatever I want,” Michelle said of how she spends her time. “It’s the first time in my life all of my choices are for me.”
Obama further explained that her roles as a mother to daughters Malia and Sasha, now 26 and 23, and as the first lady restricted her decision-making in the past.
Before, to avoid making decisions for herself, she said she made excuses like needing to ensure her daughters were good or her husband’s gig as president.
“Now, you know, I can’t blame my decisions and indecisions on anyone other than me,” she continued. “I think if I’m honest with myself, I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago. But I didn’t give myself that freedom.”
However, this newfound sense of independence has come with a price: public opinion. She discussed how she and Barack and the status of their marriage have been the subject of rumors recently.
“That’s the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people. I mean, so much so that this year people 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 said. “This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right? But that’s what society does to us.”
Obama noted if something she does “doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible.”
Since Obama was absent from President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January, speculation into why she hasn’t been seen with Barack as much this year has spread like wildfire. Meanwhile, the famous couple, who celebrated 32 years of marriage in October, have been very forthcoming about their marriage over the years.
As rumors of a potential divorce mounted recently, Barack admitted he was in a “deficit” with his wife after leaving the White House.
“I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,” he said while in conversation on Thursday with Hamilton College President Steve Tepper, per the Daily Beast.
