Over the past year rumors have been swirling that Barack and Michelle Obama are heading for divorce. According to these rumors, Barack and Michelle have been living “separate lives” for quite some time.
Now, Michelle is becoming emotional as she reflects on her childhood in Chicago, Illinois. This comes as her divorce rumors continue to spread like wildfire.
Michelle Reminisces
On Sunday, Michelle took to Instagram to reflect on community ahead of the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. She did so by sharing some throwback photos of her late parents and her older brother Craig Robinson.
“Chicago will always be home,” Michelle, 62, wrote in the caption. “It’s where Craig and I grew up. Where Barack and I met and fell in love, where we taught our girls to tie their shoes and reach for the stars. Where the ride of a lifetime took root—and took off. So when it came time to decide where we’d build the Obama Presidential Center, Barack and I knew exactly where it had to be: Jackson Park on the South Side of Chicago.”
“It’s a way of giving back to the community that has given us so much,” she continued. “But it’s more than that, too. It’s a tribute to the big-hearted, open-armed people and communities who have defined this city — and buoyed our family through thick and thin. It’s a launchpad for the next generation of young leaders who are going to change the world.”
Michelle went on to say that she is “so excited that the Obama Presidential Center will begin its grand opening celebrations on June 18th and will officially open to the public on June 19th. We hope it will be a place where people of all ages and backgrounds can visit Chicago, connect with each other, and walk away believing even more in yourself — and in what we all can accomplish together.”
“We can’t wait for you to visit,” she concluded. “See you soon!”
Obama Divorce Rumors
This comes at a difficult time for Michelle, as over the past year, she and Barack have been plagued by rampant rumors that they are divorcing.
These divorce rumors escalated in a big way back in January of last year, when Michelle skipped both the funeral of Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of Donald Trump. She was the only living former First Lady to miss each of these events. This forced Barack to attend both events alone.
“I have been hearing this rumor that the Obamas are getting a divorce by reputable people,” political commentator Meghan McCain said on reporter Tara Palmeri’s podcast in 2025. “I’m not talking about TMZ, I’m not talking about Perez Hilton, although I love him, he’s my friend.”
“I’m talking about like very serious journalists telling me that they’re hearing that the Obama divorce rumors are true,” she continued.
“We’ve heard that for a long time,” replied Tara, who has long covered Washington politics. “Like I just heard that they live separate lives.”
Listen to Meghan and Tara talk more about this in the clip below.
Michelle Accused Of ‘Really Disliking’ Barack
Michelle launched her IMO podcast with her brother back in March of last year. Since then, Michelle has used it to bash Barack and air his dirty laundry seemingly every chance she gets.
In fact, Michelle has complained about Barack so many times on her podcast that the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has claimed that the former First Lady “really dislikes her husband, and it’s super obvious.”
“I’m not just saying that to be catty,” Tucker explained. “I think I’m trying to feel compassion for her but her hostility toward the guy is unbelievable.”
Tucker’s fellow former Fox News host Megyn Kelly was quick to agree. She pointed out that “everything Michelle says about her husband is negative.”
“I almost never say negative things about Doug,” Megyn added, referring to her own husband Doug Brunt. “He’s not perfect but when I think about him, I don’t immediately go to whatever is negative. I go to what’s positive and what I love about him.”
The Obamas Respond
Back in July, Barack appeared on Michelle’s IMO podcast. There, they desperately tried to shoot down the escalating divorce rumors.
“There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man,” Michelle claimed. “And we’ve had some really hard times. So we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
“These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right?” Barack chimed in to add. “So I don’t even know this stuff’s going on. And then somebody will mention it to me and I’m all like, ‘what are you talking about?'”
Unfortunately for the Obamas, however, many are still not buying their claims that their marriage is still going strong.
Michelle can reminisce about her childhood all that she wants to, but it won’t convince the public that all is well in her marriage. Only time will tell if the Obama marriage will actually survive!