Folks have been speculating since late last year that there’s trouble in paradise in Barack and Michelle Obama’s marriage. From Michelle’s absences from certain high-profile events to separate solo outings and projects, the rumor mill relentlessly speculated they were heading towards Splitsville. Now, both Barack and Michelle are speaking out about it.
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Michelle teased the appearance of a “very, very, very special guest” who “is near to my heart” on the latest episode of “IMO” with her brother Craig Robinson. Michelle’s spouse of 32 years walks onto the set, prompting Craig to ask in jest, “Wait, you guys like each other?”
“Oh yeah really,” Michelle said, saying, “That’s the rumor mill. It’s my husband y’all!” Barack added, “She took me back,” sparking laughter from the siblings. Michelle told the former president of the United States, “Now don’t start,” before Barack joked how “it was touch and go for awhile!”
Craig said how “nice it is to have you in the same room together,” to which Michelle replied, “I know, cause when we aren’t folks think we’re divorced!”
Michelle’s older brother went on to tell a story of when a fan asked him what did Barack do– to elicit the rumored divorce– pointing out how the fan asked what “he” did specifically. Craig recalled how he asked the fan, “What makes you think he messed up? Why couldn’t it be her?” Craig continued, remembering how he told the woman not to worry because, “Everything is fine [in their marriage]. She was so happy you would have thought I gave her a Christmas gift.”
“These are the kinds of things I just miss,” Barack said. “I don’t even know this stuff is going on, then somebody will mention it to me and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’” Michelle then made it clear that, “There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man. And we’ve had some really hard times, a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I’ve become a better person because of the man I’m married to.” Her heartfelt words had Barack swooning. “Don’t make me cry nah– right at the beginning of the show. Don’t make me start tearing up now.”
Michelle replied, “You can take the hard stuff, but when I talk about the sweet stuff, ‘No don’t do it.’” Barack responded, “No I love it. I enjoy it.”
And that’s that people!
The pair met at Sidley Austin LLP, a Chicago law firm, in 1989. Michelle, who was working at the firm as an associate, was assigned to be Barack, the newest summer associate’s, mentor. Barack took a quick liking to his then-future wife, although she initially declined because she thought it was “completely tacky” to date someone she was mentoring at work. However, Barack persisted, and she eventually agreed to a date. And the rest is history.
Barack and Michelle jumped the broom in October 1992 and are the parents of two children; Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24.
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