Michelle Obama Breaks Silence on Divorce Rumors

The former FLOTUS responded to ongoing speculation about her marriage.

Michelle ObamaMichelle ObamaGetty Images

The gossip mill has been working overtime ever since Michelle Obama skipped several recent political events (including Donald Trump‘s inauguration), with many speculating the former FLOTUS might be headed for divorce from Barack Obama.

On the April 9 episode of the Work in Progress with Sophia Bush podcast, Michelle finally responded to the ongoing rumors.

“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people,” she said. “I mean, so much so that this year people were…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.”

“This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?” she asked.

“But that’s what society does to us,” she continued. “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.”

Later in the episode, Michelle said she’s currently trying to figure out her future path.

“What am I waiting for? How am I going to spend 20 years?” she said. “Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, ‘Who do I truly want to be every day?’”

Last month, Michelle teamed up with her brother Craig Robinson to launch a new podcast, IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, which will “uncover the shared experiences that connect us all,” per Variety.