Former first lady Michelle Obama rebuked the idea that there is marital conflict between her and former President Barack Obama, suggesting any rumors are due to the couple’s lack of presence together on social media.
The former first lady was reflecting on her role and what she has done since leaving office, including starting her own podcast. Obama contended that even after leaving the White House, she and her staff still feel responsible for “the legacy [of] Barack Obama,” as she and her husband will still get coverage from the press when they make a statement, regardless of it being “right or wrong.”
“The fact that people don’t see me going out on a date with my husband sparks rumors of the end of our marriage, I mean, it’s sort of … It’s the apocalypse!” Obama said on National Public Radio’s Wild Card podcast. “It’s like, OK, so we don’t Instagram every minute of our lives. We are 60! You just are not going to know what we’re doing every minute of the day, you know? And yes, I guess we’re famous, but we’re 60!”
On Obama’s Instagram account, the last photo of her and her husband was posted in April, featuring the couple with the late Pope Francis. On her husband’s Instagram, the most recent picture of the couple was uploaded on June 10 in a post celebrating their daughter Sasha’s birthday.
Obama did not join her husband at either President Jimmy Carter’s funeral or President Donald Trump’s inauguration, both of which were held in January. The former first lady said during her podcast that she decided at the start of the year to “stay put” and use her “ambition” to define what she wanted to do, adding that she did not “regret” any of her decisions.
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Earlier this year, Obama started the podcast series IMO with her brother, Craig Robinson, as a means for the cohosts to “share our perspectives.” The podcast’s most popular episode on YouTube was uploaded in April and featured actress Taraji P. Henson as a guest, garnering over 741,00 views.
The former first lady’s name had been considered a possibility for a future presidential run. However, Obama has quelled these speculations, saying it was “never gonna happen.”