Speaking on Sophia Bush’s “Work in Progress” podcast, Michelle Obama said that her choice to step back was seen as a reflection of their marriage.
“The interesting thing is that when I say ‘no,’ for the most part, people are like, ‘I get it,’ and I’m OK. And that’s the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people. So much so that people, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,” a report by Page Six quoted her as saying.
‘I chose what was best for me’
Laughing off the idea of ending her marriage, she said that she was just “a grown woman making a set of decisions for herself.”
“But that’s what society does to us. We actually finally start going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible,” she added.
She explained that after being done with the White House duties and with her two daughters now grown up, she has more freedom to decide how to spend her time.
“I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year. It was a real big example of me, myself, looking at something that I was supposed to do, you know, without naming names, and I chose to do what was best for me. Not what I had to do, not what other people wanted me to do, and between you and me, that was an important test for me just as a woman, as an independent person. Because, like all women, I operate from guilt,” she said.
This could likely be a reference to her absence at high-profile events like President Trump’s inauguration and President Jimmy Carter’s funeral which were attended by Barack Obama alone.
Michelle’s comments come days after her husband Barack admitted that he “was in a deep deficit with [his] wife.” “I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,” he said.
(Also read: Barack Obama photobombs family cherry blossom pics in Washington DC: ‘My bad…’)
Michelle Obama,Barack Obama,divorce rumors,White House duties,women’s independence
#Michelle #Obama #addresses #divorce #rumours #Barack #Obama #chose #Trending