The former First Lady Michelle Obama sparked fresh speculation about her marriage to Barack Obama after making ambiguous comments during a recent podcast appearance that failed to definitively address ongoing divorce rumors.
According to Daily Mail, Michelle Obama's interview on NPR's Wild Card podcast, released Thursday, only added fuel to existing rumors about potential marital troubles when she deflected direct questions about her relationship status.
The 61-year-old former First Lady's vague responses and explanations about her public absences from major events have left many questioning the true state of her 33-year marriage to the former president.
"We are 60. We're 60, y'all. You just are not gonna know what we're doing every minute of the day," Michelle stated during the podcast, attempting to explain why she and Barack are rarely seen together in public nowadays.
Michelle's justification centered around their age and desire for privacy, claiming they don't take selfies or document their daily activities on social media platforms like Instagram. However, many observers found this explanation unconvincing.
Critics on social media quickly pointed out that couples much older than the Obamas still maintain active social lives together, casting doubt on Michelle's age-related reasoning for their limited public appearances as a couple.
Michelle's absence from several high-profile events earlier this year, including the presidential inauguration and former President Jimmy Carter's funeral, raised eyebrows among political observers and the public alike.
The former First Lady addressed these absences directly in the podcast, framing them as personal choices rather than signs of marital discord. She emphasized that staying away from these events was about defining her own path.
Her explanation that "those are my choices" and insistence that she had "no regrets" about missing these significant occasions has done little to quell speculation about deeper issues within the marriage.
Michelle previously attempted to dismiss speculation about her marriage during an appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast, where she stated that if there were problems in her marriage, "everybody would know about it."
The former First Lady has also recently shown signs of establishing her own identity separate from her married name, requesting to be called simply "Michelle" rather than "Mrs. Obama" during public appearances.
These efforts at maintaining individual identity have coincided with their eldest daughter Malia's decision to drop the Obama surname professionally, now going by Malia Ann.
Social media reactions to Michelle's latest comments have been largely skeptical, with many users questioning the credibility of her explanations about their reduced public appearances together.
Critics have particularly focused on her age-related justification, pointing out numerous examples of couples in their 60s, 70s, and beyond who maintain active social lives and public appearances together.
The ongoing speculation has led to increased scrutiny of the couple's rare public outings, including their date nights in New York City and Washington DC earlier this year.
