Former US First Lady Michelle Obama has dismissed persistent rumours about a possible split from her husband, Barack Obama, stating emphatically that she has never considered leaving him, despite the challenges they’ve faced in their marriage.
In a new episode of her podcast, “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” released on Wednesday, Michelle and the former president addressed the swirling speculation that their marriage was in trouble.
“She took me back!” Barack Obama joked during the episode. “It was touch and go for a while.”
The couple’s lighthearted response comes after months of online rumours, some of which intensified due to Michelle’s absence from high-profile public appearances, including Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this year.
Michelle’s brother and co-host, Craig Robinson, teased the couple, saying, “It’s so nice to have you both in the same room together.” Michelle replied, “I know, because when we aren’t, folks think we’re divorced.”
Recounting a curious encounter, Robinson shared that a woman once stopped him at the airport and asked, “What did he do?”—referring to Barack. Laughing, the former president admitted he often misses the chatter. “I don’t even know this stuff’s going on. Then someone tells me and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Michelle set the record straight with heartfelt clarity: “There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I’ve thought about quitting on my man. We’ve had some really hard times and we’ve had a lot of fun times… I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
She also reflected on her decision to skip Trump’s inauguration and the backlash it generated. “People couldn’t believe I was saying no for any other reason, so they assumed my marriage was falling apart,” she said.
Married since 1992 and parents to daughters Malia and Sasha, the Obamas used the rest of the podcast to discuss family, politics, and the emotional well-being of boys in today’s world.
Barack, raised by a single mother, reflected: “I think I might have been more judgmental, harder [on a son]. Father-son relationships, for me, might’ve been more difficult.”
He warned that boys are growing up feeling unseen and undervalued, a dynamic that is fuelling troubling political shifts. “We rightly invest in girls, but we haven’t been as intentional about investing in boys—and that’s been a mistake,” he said.
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