Michelle Obama Addresses Divorce Rumors, Links Them to Societal Views on Independent Women

Michelle Obama has always been open about her life and her growth, whether it’s in raising two daughters, being the First Lady for eight years, or being married to the man who was once the literal president of America for two terms.

Like the rest of us, the former First Lady is just figuring herself out day by day, and each day she wakes up with new revelations about her thoughts and decisions and how she could make them to be happier and more fulfilled, not only as a wife and a mother, but as a woman.

I guess, even though I’m not married or have kids or in a relationship, that people can often lose themselves when they’re in any of these situations. We start to think the way society labels us, whether it be mother or wife, and Michelle Obama’s unique insight into how deeply this can scramble with the true person we are is truly fascinating and worth noting.

Here, take my hand and let’s find out what she has to say about our inner perceptions and how labels can change that for us.

Michelle Obama On Starting To Make A Choice For Herself For the First Time In Her Life

During her recent chat with Sophia Bush on Work in Progress, the ‘Becoming’ author touched on her marriage and the divorce rumors.

Leaving the White House in 2017 was healing in so many ways, as it helped her to finally come into the headspace she needs to discover the freedom she had buried for so long trying to live up to the public’s expectations of the First Lady.

“It’s the first time in my life all of my choices are for me,” Michelle said, before noting that she would always prioritize other people’s needs over her own in the past. “I have to make sure the girls are okay, or my husband’s president, so I can’t do that,” she recalled.

“Now, you know, I can’t blame my decisions and indecisions on anyone other than me. I think if I’m honest with myself, I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago. But I didn’t give myself that freedom.”

Michelle Obama On How “Making A Choice For Myself” Led To Divorce Rumors

Turning a new chapter might have been a breath of fresh air for the bestselling author, but like most things, it hasn’t been without its ups and downs.

“The interesting thing is that, when I say ‘no,’ for the most part people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m okay,’” she said. “That’s the thing that we as women… we struggle with disappointing people. I mean, so much so that this year people were… they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.”

She continued, “This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? But that’s what society does to us. We start actually, finally, going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labelled as something negative and horrible.”

Her husband Barack Obama also shared some insights into their marriage, and how his two-term presidency affected their relationship at the time.

“I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” he honestly told Hamilton College president Steven Tepper. “So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”

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