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Inauguration weekend: Barack Obama goes solo at private dinner amid Michelle Obama divorce rumours

Jan 20, 2025 07:13 AM IST

Barack Obama was spotted sans his wife, Michelle Obama, at an A-list restaurateur's Washington DC eatery over the inauguration weekend. 

All the while Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have been plagued by divorce rumours, the former US president was seen alone at a Saturday night inauguration weekend celebration in Washington, D.C.

Barack Obama was spotted at Stephen Starr's Osteria Mozza in Georgetown, Washington D.C. this weekend ahead of Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025. (Instagram: Stephen Starr / Jessica Sidman)
Barack Obama was spotted at Stephen Starr's Osteria Mozza in Georgetown, Washington D.C. this weekend ahead of Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025. (Instagram: Stephen Starr / Jessica Sidman)

The dinner party was held at A-list restaurateur Stephen Starr’s Osteria Mozza in Georgetown, which the former first lady skipped just like her pre-announced absence at Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Barack Obama at private Washington DC dinner party without Michelle Obama

Sources claimed that Mr Obama’s attendance at the restaurant sent others in utter disbelief as walked upstairs for the dinner party, per Page Six’s Sunday report. While he is believed to have kept things jovial, “he didn’t stop and take photos with people.” Contrary to that claim, Obama did, in fact, make an exception to click a snap alongside Stephen Starr, as validated by his Instagram Story update.

Also read | Trump Inauguration Day schedule: Have the indoor changes affected the line-up? Key events, performers and more

Barack Obama still had company

Jessica Sidman, a food editor for the Washington Post, also corroborated the report, sharing visual proof on social media. “Obama dined in a private room at @osteriamozzadc tonight. Tipsters say fellow diners applauded when he walked in the side entrance with Secret Service,” she wrote on her IG Stories with a distant picture of the man himself posing for a picture with an intimate group.

Though sans Michelle Obama, the ex-prez wasn’t necessarily left to his solitude at the soiree. President Joe Biden’s White House Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients, arrived shortly after he did, keeping him company.

Although the Obamas have been already caught in weeks-long speculations that all may not be well in marriage paradise, Barack attempted to quell that online fire by posting a tribute to the “love of my life” on her 61st birthday on Friday.

Also read | Donald Trump dances with village people at DC victory rally before inauguration: Watch

Despite her absence at the Inauguration weekend party, Michelle shares her own history with Starr’s restaurant. Back in November, when the Georgetown establishment had merely opened weeks ago, she hosted a holiday dinner for her team. Per previous reports, she purportedly “christened” it as the “California-style Italian” eatery.

Why Michelle Obama is not attending Trump's inauguration?

On Monday, Barack Obama will again step out without her for Trump’s swearing-in ceremony – also to be attended by Joe and Jill Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and George W and Laura Bush. Earlier this month, the tabloid’s sources suggested that Michelle is sitting out the historic event because “She’s never been fake and she’s never been phony. She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up.”

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Read breaking news, latest updates from United States on topics related to politics, crime, along with national affairs. Stay up to date with news developments on Kamala Harris, Donald Trump,and Joe Biden along with Super Bowl 2025 Live Updates.
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