Michelle Obama breaks silence on divorce rumors

Former first lady Michelle Obama denied rumors of a possible split between her and former President Barack Obama.

During an interview on Sophia Bush's podcast, Obama maintained that - in her opinion - the divorce speculation started because she began making decisions on her own and people started talking about the possible end 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 okay,' right?," Obama said, referring to her absence at several political events that her husband attended alone.

"I mean so much so that this year people were, 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, you know? This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right? But that's what society does to us," Obama added.

In that regard, she stressed that "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." However, she insisted that this year she has done what she wanted to do.

"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 not just as a woman, but as an independent person. Because, like all women, I operate from guilt," she said.

Similarly, the former first lady reflected on the things she is doing at 61 years old. In addition, she highlighted that she hopes to continue with new projects. "Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, ‘Who do I truly want to be every day?’ And that changes", she noted.