Michelle Obama has denied rumours of impending divorce with former US President Barack Obama, calling them baseless.
In a recent episode of Sophia Bush’s podcast “Work in Progress“, Michelle set the record straight, explaining that her decision to skip high-profile events like President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s inauguration were simply personal choices.
She expressed frustration that people couldn’t fathom a grown woman making decisions for herself without it being attributed to marital issues.
“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.
“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 emphasised the importance of independence and self-empowerment, revealing that she’s now making choices solely for herself, a departure from her earlier life as First Lady and wife.
She’s prioritising personal growth, self-discovery and her personal desires.
The former First Lady also touched on societal expectations and how they impact women’s decisions.
She believed that society often labels women’s independence as “negative and horrible” when it doesn’t fit traditional stereotypes.
“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.’
‘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.
Michelle said that looks ‘like whatever I want it to look like.’
“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.
“We, you know, the library is opening a year from now.”
“But the interesting thing is that when I say no, for the most part, people are like, I get it, and I’m OK, right?” she added.
