Former first lady Michelle Obama, 61, has been outspoken about her personal life with former President Barack Obama, 63, after the Democratic couple left the White House in 2017.
In particular, Michelle often uses the “IMO” podcast with her brother, ex-NCAA basketball coach Craig Robinson, to reflect on her relationship with the 44th president of the United States.
Michelle mentioned Obama’s ambition during her most recent episode of her and her brother Craig Robinson’s “IMO” podcast, which dropped on July 23, with Grammy-winning singer Victoria Monét, 36, as the guest.
“Were you ever embarrassed to say that’s what you were, or that’s what you wanted to be?” Robinson, 63, asked Monét about her lifelong goal to be a recording artist.
The “On My Mama” singer responded, “I wouldn’t say embarrassed, but more so… it felt like an ambitious statement. Inside people may be like, ‘Yeah, OK.’”
Michelle then chimed in, “It’s like my husband … ‘I want to be president of the United States.’ It’s like ‘No, you might want to keep that to yourself, honey,’” mocking people who doubted that the Black politician could become the most powerful person on the planet.
Barack did win the presidency in the 2008 election and served two terms in office. Michelle supported him throughout his eight-year run as the POTUS, but she has admitted that time-consuming position made it hard for him to help raise his two young daughters at the time.
Michelle’s sarcastic remarks in defense of Obama running for president were met with criticism by many readers of the conservative British tabloid The Daily Mail.
“Can she stop embarrassing her husband already, he is the breadwinner in their family,” one person wrote in the outlet’s comment section.
Another commenter exclaimed, “So desperate for fame, but without her husband’s name she gets no attention!” A third individual posted, “She seems to delight in putting her husband down.”
Many also referred to the constant, unsubstantiated speculation that the Obamas are close to splitting up. However, a skeptic of the persistent online gossip wondered, “Really? That is what fuels divorce rumors?”
Another claimed, “So desperate for fame, but without her husband’s name she gets no attention!”
The Obamas supposedly experiencing marital troubles became a widespread talking point in January 2025 when Michelle skipped President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s second inauguration while Barack attended both events without his spouse.
Former “The View” panelist Meghan McCain was one of the leading voices spewing the rumblings of a pending Obama divorce. The right-leaning pundit’s “Citizen McCain” podcast co-host, Tara Palmeri, even suggested Michelle and Barack were living separate lives.
Despite the unconfirmed whispers of a separation, Michelle has repeatedly denied she and Barack were heading toward ending their 31-year marriage. An appearance on Sophia Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast in April featured a response to the gossipmongers.
“We as women struggle with disappointing people. 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,” Michelle said.
Even Barack joined Michelle in pushing back on the divorce rumors when he sat down with his wife and her brother for an installment of “IMO” that was released on July 16. That conversation began with a light-hearted comment from Craig.
“Wait, you guys like each other?” Robinson quipped at the start of the episode when his sister and brother-in-law embraced in a hug on camera. Michelle brought up the “rumor mill” before announcing, “It’s my husband, y’all!”
Barack then joked, “She took me back. It was touch and go for a while.” Robinson continued the banter by saying, “It’s so nice to have you both in the same room together,” which led to Michelle adding, “I know, because when we aren’t, folks think we’re divorced.”
It was cringe watching them hug on the Podcast… like they hadn’t seen each other for long time. Hmm.
Michelle first met Barack in 1989 when they both worked at the Sidley & Austin law firm in Chicago. The Harvard Law School graduates got married in October 1992. Barack and Michelle share two daughters, Malia Obama (born July 4, 1998) and Natasha “Sasha” Obama (born June 10, 2001).
