Michelle Obama seems to have long been at the center of rumors that have no head or tail, but at the end of the day, damage her image. Recently, it has been rumored that the Obama couple is heading for divorce, after Michelle missed the funeral of Jimmy Carter, former US president, and then, the inauguration of Donald Trump for the second time as the current US president.
On both occasions, Barack attended alone. The voices grew louder and louder. The couple chose not to address them, until Michelle decided to end them on Sophia Bush's podcast, "Work in Progress ." She explained that she was dealing with herself and making personal choices, which led people to think that there was a problem in the famous couple's marriage.
“That’s what we face as women — the fear of disappointing others,” Michelle Obama said, continuing: “To the point where this year people couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself. They had to assume that my husband and I were getting a divorce. Couldn’t it just be the option of a grown woman making a bunch of decisions for herself? That’s what society forces us to do, and we start thinking, ‘What am I? What am I doing? Why am I doing this?’ And if it doesn’t fit the stereotype that people think we should follow, then it’s labeled as something negative or even terrible.”
Obama, although she did not specify, implied that her absence from Carter's funeral or Trump's inauguration were in fact decisions she made for her own good. Michelle is not a political figure and has often expressed that she does not like this sphere, and Barack even told students at Hamilton College that he feels "a great debt" to his wife, after involving her in intense political commitments.
On Bush's podcast, Michelle Obama also said that she is experiencing a certain liberation, as she previously used various excuses to refuse invitations. Now, she no longer says: "I have to make sure the girls are okay"; "My husband is the president and I can't do this", but is free to make decisions for herself.
“Now, I know, I can’t attribute my decisions or my indecisiveness to anyone but myself,” Michelle explained. “I think, if I were honest with myself, I could have made a lot of these choices years ago. But I didn’t give myself that freedom.”
So, nothing to worry about! Michelle simply won't be present at these events and chooses not to be! Let this serve as a lesson to you who say "yes" to invitations because you don't yet have the word "no" in your vocabulary.
