Michelle Obama spoke out about her marriage to husband Barack Obama on the podcast she cohosts with her brother, Craig Robinson.
During Wednesday’s episode of IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, short for “in my opinion,” the former first lady revealed to guest Taraji P. Henson why she didn’t attend President Donald Trump‘s inauguration.
Newsweek reached out to Michelle Obama‘s representative via email for additional comment.
The Context
Michelle Obama first made headlines in January for skipping former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral. She announced soon after that she would also not be joining Barack Obama at Trump’s second presidential inauguration.
Typically, presidential inaugurations are attended by past presidents and their families to show a peaceful transfer of power.
Barack Obama served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He and Michelle Obama got married in 1992, and they share two daughters together—Malia Obama, 26, and Sasha Obama, 23.
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What To Know
On this week’s episode of IMO, Michelle Obama shared that she’s in therapy and has been “practicing” saying “no.”
“I’m at this stage in life where I have to define my life on my terms for the first time. So what are those terms?” she asked. “What happened that eight years that we were in the White House? What did that to do me internally, my soul?”
“We made it through. We got out alive. I hope we made the country proud. My girls, thank God, are whole. But what happened to me, right?” the Becoming author continued. “Going through therapy is getting me to look at the fact that maybe finally I’m good enough.”
She added that her “decision to skip the inauguration” was “met with such ridicule and criticism,” that “people couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”
“I’m here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me, 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,” Michelle Obama said. “That was a hard thing for me to do. I had to basically trick myself out of it.”
The mom of two noted that “it started with not having anything to wear.”
“I’m always prepared for any funeral, anything. I walk around with the right dress. I travel with clothes just in case something pops off. So I was like, ‘If I’m not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team I don’t even want to have a dress ready,’ right? Because it’s so easy to just say, ‘Let me do the right thing,'” she said.
What People Are Saying
Henson said that if Michelle Obama attended Trump’s inauguration, she would “become a shock absorber,” noting, “that’s what women are.”
“We’re shock absorbers. And that’s exhausting, and it’s not healthy,” the Empire actress said. “You have had to be shock absorbers for your husband, for your children, for your mom, for your family, your loved ones, because of where you were sitting in the public eye. That’s not fair to you. When do you ever get to live for you? I applaud you. I’m happy that you are taking care of yourself in the way that you need to.”
A promotional clip for the podcast was shared to Michelle Obama’s Instagram, and journalist Katie Couric wrote a message in the comments that garnered over 9,800 likes: “Michelle. You do you. That’s why we love you. Ignore the haters and the naysayers. You’re powerful and that’s why you’re a lightening rod for them. Carry on!”
Actress Julia Roberts simply posted the 100 emoji, receiving over 200 likes.
Meanwhile, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce’s wife, Kylie Kelce, “liked” the video.
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