Former first lady Michelle Obama recently addressed rumors about her marriage to Barack Obama during a podcast interview with Sophia Bush on "Work in Progress." According to Fox News, she dismissed speculation that arose after she missed several high-profile events, including Donald Trump's inauguration and former President Jimmy Carter's funeral. Obama noted that people often accept her decisions when she declines invitations, yet some speculated about a divorce when she made personal choices, highlighting the societal challenge she says women face in balancing personal desires with public expectations. “[T]hat's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people,” the former first lady said. “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.” "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. Thus, Obama suggested that simply made the decision as one of her own empowerment to not attend the funeral of a former president alongside her husband. During the podcast, Michelle Obama emphasized her increased freedom to pursue her own interests and the importance of prioritizing her well-being. She spoke about feeling guilty as a woman and the need to align her actions with her genuine desires. “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 said, noting who and what she says yes to as opportunities, even as simple as with whom she has lunch, come her way. Obama also mentioned her continued dedication to projects like education and her husband's presidential library. In March, she launched her own podcast, "IMO," on which she discussed Barack's adjustments to punctuality after 30 years of marriage.