Even the former First Lady and her husband deal with speculations about divorce. After running an entire country, it's not hard to imagine a relationship might be a bit turbulent. There have been a ton of rumors swirling around Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage lately. People have frequently speculated that, with their kids out of the house and her not going to certain events with Barack, they could be looking to split up. Consequently, the former First Lady is taking the time to address all the murmurs around them.
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Recently, Michelle spoke with Sophia Bush for her Work in Progress podcast. There, she expresses her disappointment that people would believe such a thing. Moreover, she emphasizes her ability to make moves on her own, that she doesn't need to be attached at the hip with her husband. "The interesting thing is that when I say 'no,' for the most part, people are like, 'I get it' and I'm OK," Obama says. "That's the thing that we, as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people, you know?"
"So much so that this year people were -- 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 adds.
Michelle Obama Slams The Divorce Rumors About Her and Barack
"This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? But that's what society does to us. We start actually finally going, 'What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?'" the former First Lady continues. "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."
Ultimately, Michelle Obama believes in maximizing her own agency as a person. That doesn't always involve her husband, they can have their own lives. Additionally, she feels like if she doesn't carve out opportunities for herself, she'll never be able to do it later. "Because if not now, when? What am I waiting for?" Michelle says. "Because look, the summers are -- we're in summer countdown at 61 right? It's not so tragic if something happens to you and you're 80. So now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of who do I truly want to be every day?"
