Former President 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 indicated that his consecutive terms in office from 2009 to 2017 took a toll on his relationship with the former first lady.
“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.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is responding to a surge of speculation about her marriage, stating unequivocally that recent personal decisions have nothing to do with her separation from former President Barack Obama.
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 Obama reported.
“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.”
Michelle Obama dismissed rumors that she and former President Barack Obama are heading toward divorce, saying whenever she makes “a choice for myself,” people are quick to assume her marriage is over. https://t.co/5xoZRJGxn8 pic.twitter.com/FUmAUGV2nT
— USA TODAY Video (@usatodayvideo) April 10, 2025
She explained that women are frequently compelled to justify their decisions, particularly when they differ from expectations.
“We start actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible,” Michelle Obama said.
“So you know, now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of who do I truly want to be every day,” she said. That, she emphasized, “looks like whatever I want it to look like,” she added.
Despite rumors, Michelle stressed that she’s still actively involved in causes close to her heart.
“And I still find time to you know, give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls’ education,” she said. “You know, the library is opening in a year from now.”
Former President 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, 63, told Hamilton College President Steven Tepper in a conversation Thursday, 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 has previously indicated that his consecutive terms in office from 2009 to 2017 took a toll on his relationship with the former first lady.
“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.
Meanwhile, she revealed in December 2022 that she “couldn’t stand” her husband for a solid decade when their daughters — Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23 — “were little,” adding that she wasn’t “being catty by saying this.”
According to Michelle, “marriage isn’t 50/50 — ever, ever.”
“There are times I’m 70, he’s 30. There are times he’s 60, [I’m] 40. But guess what? Ten years — we’ve been married 30 — I would take 10 bad years over 30. It’s just how you look at it.”
In an April 2023 interview, she explained that she discusses her partnership openly “because marriage is hard, and many young people give up on it over challenges that are simply part of the commitment.” She also acknowledged that the compromises involved “ain’t always fun.”
The Obamas, who have been married since October 1992, have lately been the subject of divorce rumors that appear to have begun in January after Barack Obama attended several political events alone, including former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
That said, an insider claimed at the time that Michelle is simply “checked out” of DC life, according to Page Six.
One source who used to work with the Obamas also told the outlet: “They don’t pretend that they have this Camelot relationship. They’re not trying to present that they’re this magical couple.”
