Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are publicly confronting recent speculation about their marriage, dismissing divorce rumors during the latest episode of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, released Wednesday.
“She took me back!” Barack Obama joked, adding, “It was touch and go for a while.”
The couple joined Michelle’s brother, Craig Robinson, for the episode, which touched on the frequent tabloid buzz regarding their relationship. Rumors have intensified in recent months, particularly after Michelle Obama did not appear alongside her husband at several high-profile events, including the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
“It’s so nice to have you both in the same room together,” Robinson said, referencing the public speculation. Michelle responded lightheartedly, “I know, because when we aren’t, folks think we’re divorced.”
Robinson recounted an incident at an airport where a woman approached him and asked, “What did he do?”—referring to Barack.
“These are the kinds of things that I just miss,” the former president said. “So I don’t even know this stuff’s going on and then somebody will mention it to me and I’m like, what are you talking about?”
Michelle offered a candid response to the rumors. “There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I’ve thought about quitting on my man,” she said. “We’ve had some really hard times, and we’ve 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.”
The former first lady has previously addressed her absence from Trump’s inauguration and the resulting speculation about her personal life.
“My decision to skip the inauguration, 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,” Michelle said on an earlier podcast episode. “People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason. They had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”
Barack and Michelle Obama married in 1992.