The former First Lady will be notably absent from Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20. Her notable absence at Jimmy Carter’s funeral fuels speculation about the state of her relationship with Barack Obama.
It’s an absence that makes people talk. On January 9, while Washington paid a final tribute to Jimmy Carter in the National Cathedral, one detail did not escape observers: Barack Obama came alone. At his side, Donald Trump and his wife Melania. But no trace of Michelle Obama. Unusual, the situation immediately triggered a wave of rumors on social networks, especially since the former presidential couple had never missed this type of protocol event since 2008.
The announcement, five days later, of Michelle Obama’s absence from Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, only fueled speculation. On read among the many comments noted by the Daily Mail . The British tabloid went even further by seeking the opinion of Judi James, an expert in body language. For her, the last time they were seen together during a dinner at a restaurant in Los Angeles in early December, the Obamas showed “no signs of discussion or complicity”. An analysis which would therefore confirm that there would indeed be water in the gas among the Obamas.
Other Internet users are more cautious. “[Michelle Obama] would never choose Jimmy Carter’s funeral to announce his divorce. Let’s be reasonable,” wrote one of them. And another added: “Michelle Obama is in mourning for her mother… in addition to not being a political figure. Y’all believe a TikTok that suggests she and Barack are only divorcing because she missed a funeral and won’t attend a criminal’s inauguration.”
According to a source close to People the reality would be much simpler than that. The absence of Michelle Obama would only be linked to her animosity towards the president-elect. “You should not exaggerate your feelings towards Trump. She is not the type to put on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol reasons,” confides the informant to the American magazine. A position that fits with the personality of the former First Lady, known for her outspokenness and her authenticity.
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A couple like any other
If the rumors of divorce seem unfounded, the tensions within the Obama couple are not new. In his memoirs A promised landpublished in 2020, Barack Obama spoke frankly about his wife’s concerns before his candidacy for the presidency. “This is not what I signed up for, Barack. I feel like I do everything alone,” she would have told him at the time, while she was raising their two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
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Michelle Obama has also already opened up about the ups and downs of her marriage. At the podcast microphone On Purpose with Jay Shettyin January 2024, the former First Lady admitted in particular that, as in any couple, hers sometimes struggles and that there is no reason to idealize it. “I don’t want people to look at Barack and me as a model couple and know that yes, there are always things that break down, even in the best marriages,” she confided then.
A couple for more than thirty years, Michelle and Barack Obama married in 1992. Since then, they have always been able to overcome obstacles, from years of campaigning to two presidential terms spent in the White House. It remains to be seen whether Michelle’s latest media absences are just a parenthesis… or a sign of a deeper malaise.
