Michelle Obama Admits She 'Pushed' Barack Away While Discussing Dating Struggles and Trying To Find 'Her Person' — As 'Divorce' Rumors Continue To Surround Former First Couple
It took Michelle Obama awhile to realize Barack was 'my dream guy.'
Aug. 6 2025, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Michelle Obama revealed she had no interest in dating Barack Obama, who relentlessly pursued her to get out of the "friend" zone before the former first lady finally realized she'd found her "person," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
She recalled how they first met on her IMO podcast on Wednesday, August 6, while discussing modern dating with guest Logan Ury.
Michelle, 61, remembered being on her Chicago law firm's recruiting team, and her bosses were "abuzz" about the promising first-year Harvard law student in the summer of 1989. She sniped while recalling first hearing about Barack, "He's probably kind of weird because he's a nerd if a lot of white people are all infatuated with him."
Michelle slightly revised her preconceived notion about her husband when they initially spoke on the phone, gushing about how his "voice was sexier than the image that I had about him." The duo "really hit it off" during their first lunch together, where Michelle said she felt a "spark." However, she thought it would have been "completely inappropriate" to date Barack, 64, since she was his law firm advisor.
'Real Grown Man Stuff'
Barack had to work hard to convince Michelle to go on a date with him.
Michelle said she "wasn't looking to date" in general at the time, despite growing close to Barack. She soon realized that she and the future president "were becoming friends, really good friends."
"And so over a couple of weeks, he convinced me that we should go out not as friends. He wanted it to be a date, which was also kind of s---, y'all, because he wasn't trying to pretend like he was clear," Michelle raved about Barack's suave ways.
"He's like, 'I like you, you're funny, you're cute. We should go on a proper date.' And this is where I had to tell myself, he's saying real grown man stuff. So why am I pushing off from this? Because I told myself I wasn't dating because he's my summer associate, you know?" she confessed.
'My Dream Guy'
Barack and Michelle will celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary in October.
"Some crazy principles. Because yeah, I could have missed my dream guy, my person," Michelle cooed about how her belief system at the time almost caused her to miss out on their romance.
She stressed how her soul mate was "right in front of me. And I was convincing myself against even his efforts that we should go out. And you know, Long story short, I gave in," and the rest is history.
The couple wed on October 3, 1992, after three years of dating.
'Choice for Myself'
Michelle said she can now make 'a choice for myself' when it comes to what events she attends.
Michelle's sudden decision to swoon over her husband comes after months of speculation that the duo is heading for a divorce.
The former attorney skipped out on two major national events in January, refusing to be by Barack's side at the state funeral service for former President Jimmy Carter. Michelle was M.I.A. once again at Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony less than two weeks later.
During a podcast appearance on April 9, Michelle boldly proclaimed that she was charting her course when it came to her calendar of events after years of having her schedule revolve around Barack.
"I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom,” she revealed. "And now that’s gone. And so now I have to look at my, I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year, was a real big example of me, myself looking at something that I was supposed to do, you know, without naming names, and 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."
“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.
Fighting Divorce Rumors
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Barack seemed to have a far less forced conversation with brother-in-law Craig Robinson than the tense exchanges with his wife.
The former first couple tried to shake off divorce rumors when Barack appeared as the surprise guest on Michelle's July 16 episode on her IMO podcast.
"She took me back. It was touch and go for a while," he joked after the pair shared an awkward hug.
Barack proceeded to sit far across the table from his wife, who firmly declared, "There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage when I thought about quitting my man."
A source told RadarOnline.com at the time, "Everyone around the Obamas is saying the show was just a very well-orchestrated, and even almost scripted, denial of the truth – they are done!”
