Former First Lady Michelle Obama weighed in on those divorce rumors about her and former President Barack Obama following her noticeable absence at his side for several major political appearances.

Speaking to Sophia Bush on the “Work In Progress” podcast, Michelle shut down speculation about their 30-year-plus marriage following the former president’s solo appearance for late-President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.

“The interesting thing is that when I say 'no,' for the most part, people are like, 'I get it,' and I'm OK," the former first lady said. "That's the thing that we, as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people, you know?"

"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 added. “This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?”

Michelle Obama shuts down divorce rumors after being noticeably absent from public events with Barack:

“And that’s the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people. So much so that people, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they… pic.twitter.com/JGgPL4uqUj

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 9, 2025

“But that’s what society does to us,” Michelle continued. “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 labeled as something negative and horrible."

Later in the podcast, the former first lady said she’s at a point in her life when “it's time for me to make some big girl decisions about my life and own it fully. Because if not now, when? What am I waiting for? Look, the summers are—we’re in the summer countdown at 61, right?”

“It’s not so tragic if something happens to you and you’re 80. So now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of who do I truly want to be every day?” she added, without explaining further what that meant.

During Michelle’s appearance on March 20 on Kylie Kelce’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast, the former first lady talked about her marriage and how the two never agree about bedtime, which she believes is anytime after dinner.

“Bedtime is the best time of the day,” the former first lady said. “My husband teases me about how early I can go to bed. He just doesn’t understand.”

Amid divorce rumors in February, Barack appeared to shut down speculation about his solo appearances when he posted a picture on Valentine’s Day on Instagram.

It included a picture of the couple out to dinner, with a message that read, “Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away. Happy Valentine’s Day, @MichelleObama! You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you. Love you!”