During her participation in the podcast Work in Progress, former first lady Michelle Obama reflected on her freedom to choose projects since leaving active political life. As she mentioned, every time she decides to embark on her own initiative, erroneous conjectures about her marriage arise.
Obama commented that “every time she makes a decision for herself, people quickly assume that her relationship with former President Barack Obama has come to an end.”
How did the rumors of a breakup between Michelle and Barack Obama come about?
Barack and Michelle Obama appeared together, last August, during one of the highlights of the Democratic Convention that nominated Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate. But since then, there are no records of them together in any public activity.
Later, the absence of the former first lady at high-profile events, such as President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, fueled speculations.
Even Jennifer Aniston was mentioned as the reason for the breakup, a rumor that the famous actress also denied, stating that she had a very good relationship with Michelle Obama.
In an intimate conversation with the podcast host and “One Tree Hill” actress, Sophia Bush, Michelle pointed out that “we, as women, I think struggle with the idea of disappointing others.” She added that “they couldn’t even imagine that I was making a decision for myself. They had to assume that my husband and I were getting divorced. That I couldn’t just be an adult woman making a series of decisions on my own. But that’s what society does to us.”
At 61 years old, Michelle Obama continues to give talks, champion causes such as girls’ education, and explore new communication formats. In this process, she has revealed that she has become more selective with her time and priorities.
“Now is the time to start asking myself those difficult questions like... ‘Who do I really want to be every day?’ And that changes,” she commented during the podcast. “If it doesn’t fit into the stereotype of what people think we should do, then it’s labeled as something negative and horrible.”
A new approach with reality television
In parallel with her publishing projects—having released the books “Becoming (2018)” and “The Light We Carry (2022),” Michelle Obama decided to venture into a completely different format as an executive producer: reality television.
The Netflix series “The Later Daters,” produced by Higher Ground, the company she runs with her husband, depicts the lives of six adults over 50 who are looking for love again, this time with the support and guidance of their children.
Michelle explained that her motivation to develop this production came from meeting older people who struggle to re-enter the dating world. She said, “reality television is part of life, and I am a fan of reality TV, so it was very important for our company to reflect not only my husband’s taste, but mine as well.”