What Really Started The Rampant Obama Divorce Rumors Isn't A Secret

Rumors that Michelle Obama and Barack Obama have been having marital problems have been doing the rounds for a while. The divorce rumors went into overdrive when Michelle was noticeably absent at Barack's side for two major political events in January 2025. First, Michelle didn't attend Jimmy Carter's funeral. Less than two weeks later, she also skipped Donald Trump's inauguration, once again letting her husband show up alone.

Decisions like the former first lady's could very well be a red flag in a marriage, but not necessarily, Susan Trombetti, matchmaking authority and CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, tells Nicki Swift. "Her not attending does look a little strange, but you don't need to dig deep to see that she detests Trump, and this is more likely the reason," she says. Even though that wouldn't explain her skipping Carter's funeral, it still doesn't strike Trombetti as indicative of imminent divorce.

"As women, we are told to play nice and not rock the boat, but Michelle is a strong, opinionated woman," she argues. Trombetti doesn't disregard that Michelle and Barack's marriage has experienced ups and downs, but she believes that's natural for any couple that has faced the pressures they faced while in the White House. "Likely, she is just done with the obligations that come along with it," Trombetti says. "Normally, I do think skipping events with your spouse sometimes can spell relationship trouble, but in this case, it's understandable." Michelle's comments regarding the divorce rumors seem to support Trombetti's opinion. 

Michelle Obama fired back at the divorce rumors, confirming Susan Trombetti's expert assessment. "We as women, I think, we struggle with disappointing people," she said in an April 2025 interview on the "Work in Progress with Sophia Bush" podcast. "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." Even though she didn't explicitly say so, Michelle suggested she had had enough of politics.

Michelle has seemingly tried to shut down the divorce rumors in subtle ways, like displaying her wedding ring in the promotional materials of her podcast and hosting Barack Obama on it. Since Michelle is likely just trying to separate her public identity from her husband's political career, these are valid ways to show up for her spouse. "When it comes to showing up for your partner, you can do that in a multitude of ways that don't have to even be about physical proximity," Trombetti says.

According to Trombetti, other ways to show up for your partner in the face of physical distance include "being emotionally open and available ... showing reliability and consistency ... remembering important things about their day ... [and] making plans for when you are back together." But since those tactics play out in private, they do little to improve public perception of a high-profile couple like the Obamas. Michelle's attempts to include Barack in her new project could be her way of mitigating that while still keeping her distance from politics.