Obama Divorce Bombshell: Barack and Michelle Finally Address Rocky Romance Rumors After Months of Split Speculation — 'She Took Me Back'
Barack and Michelle Obama addressed divorce rumors after months of speculation.
July 16 2025, Published 12:13 p.m. ET
Barack and Michelle Obama dropped a bombshell about their marriage following months of rumors speculating they were on the rocks.
The former president confessed the 32-year marriage was "touch and go for a while" before Michelle "took me back," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
'The Rumor Mill'
The couple addressed separation rumors on Michelle's IMO podcast.
Barack, 63, addressed separation rumors during an appearance on Michelle's IMO podcast, which she hosts with brother Craig Robinson.
Robinson jokingly told the couple, "What, you guys like each other?" to which the ex-first lady quipped back, "Oh yeah, the rumor mill."
The former president added: "She took me back! It was touch and go for a while."
Michelle Opens Up
Michelle, 61, noted how nice it was to be in the same room with her husband because "when we aren't, folks think we're divorced," in reference to chatter about her relationship after Barack attended several high-profile Washington D.C. events alone.
On a more serious note, the mother-of-two opened up about her life with Barack, saying: "There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man. And we've had some really hard times.
"So we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I'm married to."
Michelle's brother recalled fans pressing him for answers about the couple.
Robinson said he had even been pressed about the state of his sister's marriage and recalled meeting a "nice" but nosey fan in Wichita, Kansas.
Michelle's brother shared: "This woman came up to me and she was so nice, she's like, 'can I have a picture?' You know how you get the side hug, and she's like 'what did he do?'"
He jokingly told the fan: "What makes you think he messed up?"
Barack then confessed he was unaware of rumors swirling about his marriage for some time.
Solo Barack
Michelle's unusual absence at former President Jimmy Carter's funeral raised eyebrows.
The former president explained: "These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right? So I don't even know this stuff's going on.
"And then somebody will mention it to me and I'm all like, 'what are you talking about?'"
Separation rumors were first sparked when Barack was spotted without his wife at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter in January. A lone Barack stood out like a sore thumb as he was pictured sandwiched between former first couples in the pews at the National Cathedral.
At the time, Michelle was said to be unable to attend the memorial service due to "scheduling conflicts" as she was on vacation in Hawaii.
Gossip intensified days later when Barack attended Donald Trump's inauguration solo.
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During an early episode of her podcast, Michelle discussed going back to therapy and how she's finally at a "stage in life where I have to define my life on my terms for the first time."
Part of defining her life on her own terms included making the difficult decision to skip important events.
She said: "My decision to skip the inauguration, you know, what people don't realize, or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism, like people couldn't believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart, you know?
"It's like, while I'm here, really trying to own my life and intentionally practice. Making the choice that was right for me. And it took everything in my power not to do the thing that was perceived as right, but to do the things that were for me, that was a hard thing for me to do. I had to basically trick myself out of it."
