Michelle Obama Finally Addresses Rumors She’s Divorcing Barack

Over the past few months, rumors have been swirling that Barack and Michelle Obama are divorcing. Indeed, rumor has it that the two of them have been living “separate lives” for quite some time. In fact, these claims have escalated to the point where it was alleged that Barack was dating the former Friends star Jennifer Aniston.

Now, Michelle has finally broken her silence to directly address these rumors publicly for the first time on her new podcast. What she had to say about them may surprise you.

Michelle Responds To Divorce Rumors

Rumors that the Obamas are divorcing escalated back in January, when Michelle skipped both the funeral of Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of Donald Trump. Michelle was the only living former First Lady not to attend these events. Barack attended them alone.

This led many speculate that the Obamas really are divorcing. While appearing on Sophia Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast on Wednesday, however, Michelle attempted to shoot these rumors down.

“The interesting thing is that, when I say ‘no,’ for the most part people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m OK,’” said Michelle, 61. “And that’s the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people.”

“So much so that people, 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,” she continued.

Michelle attempted to scoff at the idea that she has ended her 33 year marriage to Barack. She went on to complain that it seems unbelievable to be people that she is “a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself.”

“But that’s what society does to us,” she lamented. “We actually finally start 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 she’s saying she skipped major state events for no other reason than she chose to? No wonder people are speculating!

Related: Michelle Obama Makes Bedroom Dig At Barack Amidst Rumors They’re Divorcing

Obama Divorce Rumors

Unfortunately for Michelle, however, many may find it hard to believe that there is no truth to the Obama divorce rumors. Indeed, her and Barack’s silence over the rampant divorce rumors has been deafening for months.

“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 back in January. “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 added.

“We’ve heard that for a long time,” replied Palmeri, who has long covered Washington politics. “Like I just heard that they live separate lives.”

Listen to McCain and Palmeri talk more about this in the clip below.

Jennifer Aniston Rumors

On top of that, rumors that the Obamas were divorcing actually started long before Michelle skipped those two major events in January. In fact, last year, rumor had it that the Obamas had already split, and that Barack had moved on with the former Friends star Jennifer Aniston.

These claims gained so much traction that Aniston, 56, was asked directly about them during an interview with the late night host Jimmy Kimmel back in October.

“I was not mad at it, but that is absolutely untrue,” Jennifer said of the rumors.

“I’ve met him [Barack] once. I know Michelle more than him,” she then claimed, alleging that she only met the former president at a 2007 Hollywood gala before he took office.

Watch Jennifer’s full defense of this in the video below.

Related: Is Jennifer Aniston Really Dating Barack Obama? Actress Breaks Her Silence on Viral Rumor

If the Obamas really want to shoot down their divorce rumors once and for all, perhaps they might want to consider making a public appearance together of some sort. In the end, after months of silence on their part, that might be the only way for the Obamas to truly convince the public that there’s no truth to claims that they are divorcing.