Michelle Obama shuts down divorce rumours once and for all: ‘We're never going to quit’

Michelle Obama refuted divorce rumours with Barack during a podcast, stressing neither she nor Barack Obama “ever going to quit.”

Michelle Obama has stomped the rumour mills churning the divorce news with former President Barack Obama during a recent IMO (In My Opinion) podcast appearance with her brother, Craig Robinson, and host Steven Bartlett.

Michelle Obama urged couples to seek support and criticized societal expectations, defending her autonomy against claims of marital discord, particularly in light of recent media commentary (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP) (Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)

“If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,” Michelle joked, adding a laugh and a nod to her brother. “Let me tell you, he would know it,” she continued, pointing to Craig. “And everybody would know it.”

When Bartlett mentioned media speculation about Michelle’s decision not to attend former President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the former First Lady replied, “I would be problem-solving in public, like, ‘Let me tell you what he did.’”

Her brother piped in, quipping, “If they were having a problem, I’d be doing a podcast with him.”

“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, and added, “I wouldn't trade it,” calling Barack “my person.”

Michelle Obama fires back at critics

The former First Lady also addressed society's unrealistic expectations of marriage, noting that young couples sometimes look to the Obamas as “#couplegoals” without realising the hard work behind the scenes.

“I talk about these things because I think that people give up too quickly on marriage,” she said. “There is so much friction built into the equation... and if you're not getting help, talking about it, going to therapy... I just see people quitting.”

Michelle also pushed back against the idea that her independence and candour indicate marital issues. “That this couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?” she asked on a separate podcast with actress Sophia Bush. “That's what society does to us.”

Her comments come just after political commentator Tucker Carlson accused Michelle of “obviously” disliking her husband. “She’s like a freak show... afflicted with the same kind of restlessness and rage and emptiness,” Carlson said on The Megyn Kelly Show, with Kelly chiming in that “everything Michelle says about her husband is negative.”