Barack and Michelle Obama playfully addressed the constant gossip about their marriage during Barack’s appearance on the IMO podcast, hosted by Michelle and her brother, Craig Robinson.
“This is the episode that everyone’s been waiting for with bated breath,” Robinson announced ahead of Barack’s appearance, “because we have my brother-in-law, your husband, the former president of the United States.”
“He made time in his busy schedule to come on,” Michelle joked. “We are honored.” When Barack appeared, he and his wife shared a warm hug. That prompted some teasing from Robinson. “Wait, you guys like each other?” he quipped, referencing the endless tabloid stories about the Obamas splitting up.
“That’s the rumor mill,” Michelle fired back. Without missing a beat, Barack chimed in: “She took me back! It was touch and go for a while.”
“It’s so nice to have you both in the same room,” Craig told the couple, to which Michelle responded: “I know, because when we aren’t, folks think we’re divorced.”
The Obamas have dealt with relationship rumors for years, but the gossip has intensified lately. Things peaked last month when they posted a family photo celebrating daughter Sasha’s 24th birthday, with some claiming the photo was just covering up their separation.
In May, during an interview on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett podcast, Michelle tackled the rumors head-on. “The beauty of my husband and our partnership is that neither one of us was really ever gonna quit at it, ’cause that’s not who we are. And I know that about him. He knows that about me,” she said.
