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Barack Obama ‘trying to dig’ himself out of a ‘deep deficit’ with Michelle Obama

Former President Barack Obama revealed the strain his presidency placed on his marriage to Michelle.

Published on: Apr 5, 2025, 08:42:10 IST
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Former President Barack Obama has admitted that the pressures of leading the country for eight years had taken a toll on his marriage to Michelle Obama.

Former US president Barack Obama with wife Michelle Obama (Instagram/@michelleobama)
Former US president Barack Obama with wife Michelle Obama (Instagram/@michelleobama)

Speaking during a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper on Thursday, Obama said, “I was in a deep deficit with my wife.”

“So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”

Obama, in a 2023 interview with CBS Mornings, said, “Let me just say this: It sure helps to be out of the White House and to have a little more time with her.”

ALSO READ| Michelle Obama shares exactly why she supported Barack Obama's ‘crazy’ presidential run in new podcast

Michelle shared they are ‘dealing with a lot’ now

Michelle Obama has also opened up about the challenges they faced, especially during the early years of Barack’s political rise. While she was focused on raising their daughters, Sasha and Malia, Michelle found herself shouldering much of the domestic responsibility alone.

“There were 10 years where I couldn’t stand my husband,” she told Revolt TV in 2022.

Michelle also said during SXSW in Austin, Texas, “We’re dealing with a lot of uncertainties,” and added, “People always ask me and Barack, how did we stay hopeful in, not just the eight years in the White House, but beyond? Because, let me tell you, there was a lot of negative energy flipping our way, a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip....”

Now rumours and speculation surrounding their marriage in recent years—including unfounded claims that Barack was having an affair with Jennifer Aniston—these rumours intensified when Michelle did not appear publicly with Barack at both President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and Donald Trump’s inauguration.

ALSO READ| Michelle and Barack Obama don't want to ‘explain their relationship’ to people amid divorce rumours

However, Obamas attempted to silence gossip by sharing Valentine’s Day posts with cozy selfies and heartfelt captions.

“The Obamas have been through so much that, at this point, they feel no need to publicly address that kind of talk,” an insider told In Touch Weekly.

The Obamas met in the late 1980s at a Chicago law firm and married in 1992. In his 2020 memoir A Promised Land, Barack wrote that he “was smitten almost from the second I saw her.”

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