Divorce still on the table? Barack Obama admits having 'deep deficit' with wife Michelle Obama

Seems like there are still thorns left at the table of the Obamas.


The power couple of American politics has been making headlines quite frequently nowadays - and the reason is not always a merry one.

The rumors of divorce between Barack Obama, the former President of the United States of America, and Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of the US, have been circulating for quite some time now. Although neither of the Obamas has ever addressed the divorce rumors, the buzz hasn’t subsided over time.

Now Barack Obama, the former US President, recently admitted that he has had a ‘deep deficit’ with his wife in the past.


What did Obama say?

During a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper on April 3, the former president said he was “in a deep deficit with my wife” after his two terms in the Oval Office ended, per The Daily Beast. However, the former President acknowledged, “I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”

When Obama was asked, “But what is life like now out of the White House? What do you do? What do you enjoy doing? How do you spend your days?” the former US President responded, "Well, right now, at the moment, I’m splitting time between the work for the foundation. Michelle and I set up the Obama Foundation to train the next generation of leaders here in the United States and around the world, and that keeps me busy."

The father of two also added, "I am also finishing the second half of my presidential memoirs, which in case any of you feel sorry for yourself, this is like 50 term papers. I mean, it just goes on forever.” But does he really enjoy writing? To answer that, Obama said, “Absolutely not, but I do enjoy having written when it’s finished. I’m hoping to get to the finish line on that."

Obama, who has been married to Michelle Obama since 1992, has two daughters, Malia and Sasha.


The Obama romance!

Barack and Michelle met in the summer of 1989 when Michelle was 25 years old and Barack was 27. Michelle (then Michelle Robinson) had been working as a law associate at Sidley & Austin for a year.

While Michelle was assigned to mentor a first-year law student who would be working with her as a summer associate, Barack walked in (like Barack does) and they found the loves of their lives in each other.

After their first ice cream date and a proposal that came on a dessert tray, Barack and Michelle married in October 1992.


The White House chapter:

The Obamas lived in the White House from January 2009 to January 2017 during Obama’s two back-to-back terms as the President of the United States of America (POTUS).

The Obamas have been open about the strain being in the White House put on their marriage in the past. In December 2022, Michelle said there was a decade during their relationship when “she couldn’t stand” her husband.

Michelle said in a conversation with Revolt TV, "People think I'm being catty by saying this — it's like, there were 10 years where I couldn't stand my husband. And guess when it happened? When those kids were little."

She told CBS News in April 2023, "And a lot of young people quit on marriage over things that are just a part of the commitment," adding, "We've been married for 30 years. If I fell out with him for 10, and we had a great 20 years, I'd take those odds anytime."

In May 2023, when Obama was asked about those remarks on CBS Mornings, he replied, “Let me just say this: it sure helps to be out of the White House. And to have a little more time with her." He added, “Michelle — when our girls were growing up, that was priority number one, two, three, and four. And so, I did not fully appreciate, I think, as engaged of a father as I was, the degree of stress and tension for her, knowing that not just me and Michelle were under scrutiny and in this strange environment, but that we were raising our daughters in a kind of situation that just wasn't normal."

In a 2018 conversation with PEOPLE around the release of her book Becoming, Michelle revealed that she and her husband once saw a marriage counselor, saying, “There were definitely times when I wished things were different… but I don’t think I ever thought, ‘I’m just checking out of this’.”


The divorce rumors:

The American power couple has gone through spectacular highs and excruciating lows as they navigated through miscarriage, couple counseling, and most recently, a divorce rumor.

The divorce rumors first surfaced last year after InTouch magazine published an eye-catching piece titled The Truth About Jennifer Aniston & Barack, and that rumor gained momentum once again following reports hinting at possible issues between Barack and Michelle Obama. However, when Aniston was asked about it during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show last fall, she denied it saying, "Of all the calls you get from your publicist where you're like, 'Oh no, what's it gonna be?' Or the emails saying some cheesy tabloid's going to make up a story and then it's that," adding, "I was not mad at it." She clarified, "I know Michelle [Obama] more than him."