Former President Barack and former First Lady Michelle Obama were spotted out on a rare date night in New York City as rumors about the state of their marriage continue to swirl.
It was the first time the former president and first lady had been seen together in public in over six months, The New York Post reported.
But the brief appearance did little to quiet the growing speculation. The couple was seen leaving the Lowell Hotel, surrounded by a full Secret Service detail. Michelle, now 61, led the way back to their waiting SUV in a black dress and matching heels as she smiled at onlookers.
Barack, on the other hand, appeared quiet and withdrawn. Observers noted that while Michelle looked confident and at ease, the former president looked solemn and unsmiling, and the contrast wasn’t lost on anyone.
Talk of a possible split has followed the Obamas for months.
The former first lady has skipped several high-profile appearances this year, including President Biden’s inauguration and former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, and her absence only added fuel to the fire.
During a recent episode of “The Jay Shetty Podcast,” the former first lady opened up about being in therapy as she transitions into what she called “the next phase” of her life.
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That confession, paired with their long public silence and noticeable distance, has only deepened public curiosity.
“At this phase of my life, I’m in therapy right now because I’m transitioning, you know?” she said.
“I’m 60 years old, I’ve finished a really hard thing in my life with my family intact, I’m an empty nester, my girls are in – you know, they’ve been launched,” she said.
Now that she is out of the White House and her daughters are grown, Michelle stated she is finally in a position to make decisions solely for herself. “Every choice that I’m making is completely mine,” she added. “I now don’t have the excuse of, ‘Well, my kids need this,’ or ‘My husband needs that,’ or ‘The country needs that.’”
“So, I’m getting that tune-up for this next phase because I believe this is a whole ‘nother phase in life for me,” she continued. “And I now have the wisdom to know—let me go get some coaching while I’m doing it.”
Her remarks come just weeks after the former first lady responded to ongoing speculation about her marriage to Barack Obama. During an appearance on the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush, Michelle dismissed claims that personal choices—such as her absence from certain public events—indicated any issues in her relationship.
“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people,” she said. “I mean, so much so that this year people were, you know, 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.”
The former first lady said she has begun rethinking everything from her identity to how she spends her time. “We start actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’” she reflected. “And 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.”
And the former first lady made a casual remark about being single during a recent episode of her podcast, where she spoke to Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky.
“You know, I have to say, Brian, if I’m a single girl out there and I find out that Brian Chesky is single and I could like stay in his house -” she said.
Chesky played right along, noting, “Her and her husband have tried to set me up before.”