Over the past few months, 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 speaking out to reveal how her mother’s dying words changed her outlook on life. Indeed, in the minds of some, what Michelle had to say here is adding fuel to her divorce rumors in a big way.
Michelle’s Mother Passes Away
Michelle’s mother Marian Robinson died in May of 2024 at the age of 86. On Wednesday, Michelle spoke out to joke that Marian had been preparing her and her older brother Craig Robinson for her death ever since she was 10 years-old. After becoming a mother herself, however, Michelle understood why she did this.
“What she was doing was letting us know that she loved us, but that we could live life with and without her, and I understand that now as a parent,” Michelle, 61, told People Magazine. She and Barack, 64, are parents to daughters Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24.
“I want my daughters to know, ‘I love you, you love me, but you don’t need me. You know everything you need to know to be successful,'” she continued.
Marian’s Dying Words For Michelle
In the final days of Marian’s life, Michelle spent more time with her as she cared for her personally. One day, they were sitting on the couch watching TV together when Marian leaned over to Michelle and said, “Wow, that was quick.”
When Michelle asked her what she meant by that, Marian simply replied, “life.”
“That’s all she said, but what I got from that was even in her practical-minded way, that you’re never ready. And I don’t think that she was done living. It just comes, and then life is over,” Michelle stated. “I was like, ‘Let me hear that. Let me understand that, that even with a wonderful life, I want to be present.'”
This moment with her mother has ultimately had a profound impact on how Michelle is approaching her 60s.
“I think that feeling of 60 is about trying to be present in the feeling,” Michelle concluded. “Trying to be present in this moment in my life so that this last chapter is exactly the way I want it to be.”
Obama Divorce Rumors
Some think that Michelle’s determination to live out the rest of her life on her terms could be an indication that she’s divorcing Barack after 33 years of marriage. Indeed, her latest comments come after she and Barack have been plagued by divorce rumors for quite some time.
These divorce rumors escalated in a big way back in January, 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 earlier this year. “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 older brother Craig back in March. Since then, Michelle has shamelessly used the podcast 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 recently 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.”
Watch Tucker and Megyn talk more about this in the video below.
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.
After her mother warned her about how fast life goes by, perhaps Michelle is thinking that life is too short to stay with Barack. Only time will tell if the Obama marriage survives!