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New York Post
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Obamas look to end divorce gossip once and for all — but they've barely been seen together for months
Former President Barack Obama and wife Michelle have finally sought to shut down the long-running rumors they're headed for divorce — even though they've barely been seen together in months. The former first couple jointly addressed the speculation swirling around their three-decade marriage for the first time Wednesday, joking on the latest episode of the ex-first lady's podcast that it was 'touch and go for a while.' 'He made time in his busy schedule to come on. We are honored,' Michelle, 61, told listeners before her co-host and brother, Craig Robinson, shot back, 'Wait, you guys like each other?' 5 The Obamas at the 2024 Democratic National Convention located at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images 'She took me back,' Barack, 63, quickly chimed in. 'It was touch and go for a while.' Robinson went on to note it was nice to have the couple in the same room together, prompting Michelle to fire back, 'I know because when we aren't, folks think we're divorced.' The Obamas have tried to quell speculation by posting cute pics on social media — even as they seemed to live mostly separate lives in public. The whispers hit fever-pitch when the former first lady noticeably skipped two high-profile events earlier this year: former President Jimmy Carter's funeral and President Trump's inauguration. 5 Barack and Michelle Obama were seen leaving The Lowell Hotel restaurant in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024. BrosNYC / BACKGRID 'There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I have thought about quitting my man,' Michelle insisted Wednesday. 'We've had some really hard times and we've had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures and I've become a better person because of the man I'm married to.' The show of unity came despite the pair rarely being seen side-by-side in public for months — a far cry from years gone by. 5 The couple was spotted in Hollywood exiting Mother Wolf after enjoying an Italian dinner. JAST / BACKGRID They were last pictured stepping out for a date night as they left the swanky The Lowell Hotel restaurant in New York City on May 27 and cozying up for dinner at the bustling Osteria Mozza in Washington, DC in April. Before then, Barack and Michelle hadn't been seen together since Dec. 14 when they were snapped leaving the Mother Wolf restaurant in Los Angeles. They did, however, share the rare photo or two on social media to mark birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. 5 'If there's one person I can always count on, it's you, Barack Obama. You're my rock. Always have been. Always will be. Happy Valentine's Day, honey!' Michelle Obama captioned. Michelle Obama/instagram During the podcast, Robinson acknowledged that he, too, had been dragged into the apparent marriage-woe-saga, recalling one moment when a woman in Wichita, Kansas, asked him point-blank if the couple were still together. 'This woman came up to me. She was so nice. [She asked], 'Can I have a picture?' You know how you get the side hug? She was like, 'What did he do? … He did something, didn't he?'' Robinson said. When Robinson assured the woman that Barack and Michelle were still going strong, 'she was so happy, you would have thought [Robinson] gave her a Christmas gift.' Barack, for his part, claimed he was largely unaware of the speculation. 5 Barack and Michelle Obama address divorce rumors on the playful podcast 'Touch and go for awhile.' Michelle Obama/Youtube 'These are the kinds of things I just miss,' he said. 'I don't even know this stuff is going on and then somebody will mention it to me, and I'm like, 'What are you talking about?'' Michelle has repeatedly addressed the rampant speculation surrounding her marriage in a spate of podcast interviews, blaming the whispers on their age and her newfound independence. 'The fact that people don't see me going out on a date with my husband sparks rumors of the end of our marriage,' she told NPR's 'Wild Card' podcast host Rachel Martin in one interview. 'It's like, 'OK, so we don't Instagram every minute of our lives. We are 60. We're 60, y'all'.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Barack and Michelle Obama have date night at George Clooney's Broadway play amid divorce rumors
Barack and Michelle Obama attended Tuesday night's performance of George Clooney's Broadway show, The Independent can reveal. The couple, in a rare joint public appearance, dined at The Lowell Hotel restaurant in Midtown Manhattan before the show, multiple reports indicated. Michelle was seen in a black lacy midi dress with her hair swept back in a long braid, while Barack was seen in a standard dark suit. Flanked by Secret Service members, the two were then ushered into a Black SUV and whisked away to the Winter Garden Theater to see Clooney as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck. Their attendance was confirmed by a representative for the production. The stage adaptation of his 2005 film of the same name marked the A-lister's Broadway debut and garnered him a 2025 Tony Award nomination. The Obamas have been the subject of divorce rumors for several months following Michelle's absence from a handful of high-profile events at the start of the year, including former President Jimmy Carter's funeral and President Donald Trump's inauguration. She recently opened up about her decision to skip the events in an April episode of her podcast, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. '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,' she said. '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.' She reiterated that she simply didn't go to the inauguration because it was the best decision for her. 'I'm here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me,' she explained. 'And it took everything in my power to not do the thing that was right, or that was perceived as right, but do the thing that was right for me. That was a hard thing for me to do.' The former First Lady also spoke about the divorce rumors during an appearance on Sophia Bush's Work in Progress podcast earlier in April. 'The interesting thing is that, when I say 'no,' for the most part people are like, 'I get it, and I'm OK,'' she said. 'That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people. 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?' she added. 'But that's what society does to us. We start actually, finally going, 'What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?' And if it doesn't fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible.'
