Michelle Obama has publicly confirmed she is undergoing therapy to navigate what she describes as a life-altering transition into her sixties, as speculation over her marriage to President Barack Obama continues to circulate. In a series of recent podcast appearances, the former First Lady dismissed ongoing divorce rumors, affirming the strength of her 32-year marriage while emphasizing the importance of mental health support.
"At this phase of my life, I'm in therapy right now because I'm transitioning, you know?" Obama said during an interview on The Jay Shetty Podcast. "I'm 60 years old, I've finished a really hard thing in my life with my family intact, I'm an empty nester, my girls are in-you know, they've been launched."
The Obamas' relationship has been the subject of public speculation, particularly after Michelle skipped former President Donald Trump's inauguration and the funeral of President Jimmy Carter. Her absence prompted gossip about a potential split, a narrative she firmly rejected.
"If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it," Obama stated in a podcast interview with entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. She added with humor, "I would be problem-solving in public, like, 'Let me tell you what he did'."
Speaking on her own podcast IMO (In My Opinion), which she co-hosts with her brother Craig Robinson, Michelle expanded on how therapy is helping her "unwind some old habits" and "sort through some old guilt," especially as she adjusts to making decisions independent of family and public duties. "I now don't have the excuse of, 'Well, my kids need this' or 'My husband needs that' or 'The country needs that.'"
Obama also touched on her relationship with Barack, describing it as challenging but steadfast. "The beauty of my husband and our partnership is that neither one of us was ever really, ever going to quit at it, because that's not who we are. And I know that about him. He knows that about me," she said.
She acknowledged that social media's portrayal of her marriage contributes to unrealistic expectations among young couples. "People give up too quickly on marriage," she said. "Because they look at me and Barack and go, '#couple goals.' And I'm like, it's hard."
During an appearance on actress Sophia Bush's podcast earlier this month, Michelle addressed the public response to her decision to skip high-profile events, saying, "This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?... 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."
Obama's media appearances have also included discussions on broader issues such as the stereotype of the "angry Black woman." "The first label they put on us as Black women is that we are angry," she said. "And the irony is, like, yeah. I am probably less light than many of my white female friends."
She recalled criticism from a female journalist who accused her of emasculating her husband simply by being candid about her experiences. "The first thing that some female journalist said is that I emasculating him just by sort of trying to tell the truth about what my life was, right?"
Despite the swirling rumors and societal pressures, Michelle Obama has made clear that she is focused on her personal growth, her enduring marriage, and encouraging others to seek help. "I am an advocate of it. Everybody needs to find their form of it, the best way they can," she said of therapy.
