Michelle Obama's Noticeable Absence At Barack's Side Puts Divorce Rumors Into Overdrive

The late president Jimmy Carter's funeral was full of many newsworthy moments — Barack Obama and Donald Trump giggling like schoolboys, Trump staring at Kamala Harris, Melania Trump's enormous fashion faux pas, and the returning first lady giving her husband the evil eye. Another notable detail that onlookers didn't miss was the absence of Michelle Obama, who was in attendance at Rosalynn Carter's funeral in November 2023. As reported by Politico, the former first lady couldn't make Jimmy's funeral as she was in Hawaii at the time. "Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President," her rep stated.

Naturally, Michelle's lack of appearance had tongues wagging, and there was some speculation that she and Barack were headed toward a divorce. "Hearing serious talk that the reason Michelle isn't at the funeral isn't that she wasn't invited, but that she and Barack are on the outs," political activist Jack Posobiec posted on X, formerly Twitter. Another post made a reference to Donald and Barack's keke moment. "Something tells me Trump will ask Obama to do his eulogy...." it read. An X user replied, "Michelle Obama will have DIVORCE Papers ready." Days later, it was announced that the Harvard Law School grad had plans to skip out on another big political event, and now, more are wondering what's going on behind the Obamas' closed doors.

Michelle Obama skipping Jimmy Carter's funeral was big news, but her announcement that she won't be in attendance during Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 made even bigger waves. A statement released by Michelle and Barack Obama's camp read (via CBS News), "Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration." There was no other explanation as to why the mom of two would not be present. When People shared the news on X, one user noted, "Rumors are circulating that she and [Barack] are no longer living together." Another shared, "I'm guessing the Obamas are separated."

Michelle opened up about the difficulties of her marriage in a discussion for Revolt in 2022. "People think I'm being catty by saying this. It's like, there were 10 years where I couldn't stand my husband, and guess when it happened? When those kids were little," she stated. Michelle recalled feeling like her relationship with Barack was imbalanced as they struggled to juggle raising their two daughters while maintaining their careers. "Guess what? Marriage isn't fifty-fifty," she declared. She and Barack made it through the hard times and have managed to stay married for over 30 years. Hopefully, the divorce rumors are just that, and it remains to be seen why the former FLOTUS has been MIA as of late.