In a recent appearance on the podcast Work in Progress, former First Lady Michelle Obama quickly dispelled the rumors that she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, were going through a divorce.

“It is whatever I want, Sophia,” Michelle said to host Sophia Bush, opening up about her experiences since leaving the White House and empty nest syndrome. “It’s the first time in my life all of my choices are for me.”

“I have to make sure the girls or my husband’s president are OK, so I can’t do that. Now, you know, I can’t blame my decisions and indecision on anyone other than me. If I’m honest with myself, I could have made these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom.”

Michelle touched upon her newfound freedom and constant public scrutiny amidst the gossip and speculation about the state of her marriage: “That’s the thing we as women struggle with, it’s disappointing people. So much that [people] 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 herself. But that’s what society does to us, we start going, ‘What am I? What am I doing? What am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn’t fit the stereotype of what people think we should do, it gets labeled as negative and horrible.”

Barack spoke openly of the state of their marriage in a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper last week, saying he was in a “deep deficit with my wife” after serving two presidential terms. “So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by occasionally doing fun things.” The pair also shares hobbies, such as watching television.

“Barack and I, we sometimes argue over what we can watch jointly because he likes death and darkness,” Michelle said, “I said, ‘You know, you like the plots where everybody’s sad and then they die.'”

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Article by Jacob Barker

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