'A really hard thing': Michelle Obama's surprising admission after shutting down divorce rumours

Michelle Obama has made a candid admission about couple's therapy during a recent appearance on Jay Shetty's podcast On Purpose.

The former US First Lady opened up about her most recent struggles now she's turned 60, explaining she is "transitioning" and revealed why she turned to therapy.

"I believe in therapy, I believe in couple's therapy, I believe in it all," she told Shetty. "Whatever works for you.

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"And at this phase of my life, I'm in therapy right now because I'm transitioning, you know?" she explained.

"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."

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She explained that she's entering a new phase of her life, and it's been a big change.

"I now don't have the excuse of, 'Well, my kids need this' or 'My husband needs that' or 'The country needs that,'" she continued.

"So, I'm getting that tune-up for this next phase because I believe this is a whole 'nother phase in life for me. And I now have the wisdom to know, let me go get some coaching while I'm doing it."

Michelle made the comments after she recently shut down divorce rumours with husband of 32 years, former US President Barack Obama, 63, who served from 2009 until 2017.

"If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it… Let me tell you, he (Robinson) would know it," she explained on the podcast she hosts with Craig Robinson called IMO (In My Opinion).

"The beauty of my husband and our partnership is that neither one of us was ever really, ever going to quit at it, because that's not who we are," she continued.

"And I know that about him. He knows that about me."

Divorce rumours began in 2024 when Michelle failed to attend a number of key engagements alongside her husband including President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 and President Jimmy Carter's funeral on January 9.

In an earlier podcast episode she explained those absences, saying she is being more considered with how she spends her time and has learned to say "no" to those that don't benefit her.

"It's a muscle that you have to build," she explained.

"And I think we suffered [in the White House], because it's almost like we started training late in life to build that muscle, right? I am just now starting to build it."

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Both Michelle and Barack Obama have worked to quiet divorce rumours, by posting sweet tributes to each other on social media.

This included posts on Valentine's Day and Barack's own tribute to his wife on her birthday on January 17.

The couple are parents to daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23.

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