Chatting with Sophia Bush in her Work In Progress podcast, the former First Lady gets candid about rumors of her split with husband Barack Obama.
Michelle has been notably absent from accompanying Barack on several high profile events early this year, including the funeral of President Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of Donald Trump – fueling rumors that all was not well in the Obama household. The Chicago native has now quelled the speculations, stating that she’s merely “making a set of decisions for herself.”
“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with like disappointing people,” she said. “I mean, so much so that this year people couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing. This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? But that’s what society does to us.”
Noting that she now has the ability to control her own calendar post-White House stint, Michelle added: “I chose to do what was best for me. Not what I had to do. Not what I thought other people wanted me to do.”
Today, Michelle is focused on pursuing her own ventures.
“I still find time to, you know, give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls’ education,” she explained. “We, you know, the [Barack Obama Presidential] Library is opening in a year from now. Certain things I am and am not doing with the library.”