Former first lady Michelle Obama is shedding new light on her decision to skip President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, revealing that it was a deeply personal choice made for her own mental and emotional well-being.
In a candid conversation on the latest episode of IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, which featured actress Taraji P. Henson, Obama discussed the backlash she faced earlier this year for skipping high-profile public events, including Trump’s inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
“What people don’t realize is that my decision to skip the inauguration … was met with such ridicule and criticism,” Obama said. “People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any reason other than assuming my marriage was falling apart.”
Michelle Obama breaks her silence on skipping Trump’s inauguration and how people assumed there were issues in her marriage because she wasn’t there
🔗 https://t.co/5d0euzB73s pic.twitter.com/KfxZ14kApP
— Glock Topickz (@Glock_Topickz) April 23, 2025
The former first lady described the internal struggle of choosing self-preservation over societal expectations, noting that she even deliberately avoided having a dress prepared for the inauguration to resist the temptation of “doing the right thing” in the eyes of the public.
“If I’m not going to do this thing, I gotta tell my team, I don’t even want to have a dress ready,” she said. “Because it’s so easy to just say, ‘Let me do the right thing.’ But then you become a shock absorber. And that’s what women are — shock absorbers. And that’s exhausting. And it’s not healthy.”
Obama’s remarks add to a broader conversation she’s been fostering around mental health, personal agency, and the emotional labor disproportionately carried by women, especially women of color.
[embedded content]
“We don’t articulate, as black women, our pain,” she said on the podcast. “Because it’s almost like nobody ever gave us permission to do that.”
Henson responded, “And does anyone care?”
To which Obama replied, “Yeah, there’s that part.”
“If we knew, I think we would care,” Robinson said.
Michelle Obama: “As black women, we don’t articulate our pain” pic.twitter.com/UHoI7ZryTy
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 23, 2025
The former first lady also addressed rampant speculation surrounding her marriage to former President Barack Obama. Rumors had intensified in recent months following her absence from several public events, including the Carter funeral, and her husband’s solo outings in Washington, D.C.
“People couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself,” she told actress Sophia Bush on a previous episode of Work in Progress. “They had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.”
Despite the tabloid chatter, the Obamas were seen dining together over the weekend at Osteria Mozza in Georgetown, warmly greeted by patrons with cheers and applause. The couple appeared in good spirits, suggesting that speculation about a possible split may be unfounded.
Still, the public discussion continues.
Commentator Meghan McCain weighed in on social media, writing: “I really respect Michelle Obama—but if she wants everyone to stop speculating on her marriage, she shouldn’t spend every episode of her podcast telling women we need to expect marriage to be a torturous hellscape with few glimpses of happiness scattered about.”
TRUMP VOWS TO ‘BRING RELIGION BACK’ AT WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL
Michelle Obama, however, remains focused on advocating emotional honesty and balance.
“I’m still working on doing things solely for myself and being OK with that,” she said on her podcast.
