Michelle Obama\u2019s brother, Craig Robinson, revealed that he didn\u2019t expect her relationship with former President Barack Obama to last more than a month during a recent episode of their IMO podcast.<\/p>\n
The episode, which focused on dating and featured guest Tracee Ellis Ross, comes amid renewed divorce speculation. Rumors intensified after Michelle opted not to attend the funeral of President Jimmy Carter or President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration alongside her husband.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cI love talking about dating, because I haven\u2019t done it in decades,\u201d the former first lady said.<\/p>\n
Robinson said he learned early on from his father \u201cyou can really tell a person\u2019s character by how they play pick-up basketball,\u201d adding how Michelle made Craig put Barack to the test early on.<\/p>\n
Advertisement
\n\u201cAnd I\u2019ve told this story many times about when you first started dating Barack. So Mich starts to date Barack, and we don\u2019t know who this guy is, we\u2019re just like, \u2018Barack? Who\u2019s got a name like Barack?\u2019 And I\u2019m thinking it\u2019s gonna last a month like most of your relationships,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n
Michelle objected, however, saying, \u201cThat\u2019s not true. I\u2019ve had many a long-term boyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Robinson then laughed: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call those guys boyfriends.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalled his first meeting with Barack, mentioning how his mother, the late Marian Robinson, was thrilled that he was tall. \u201cAnd I said to myself, \u2018Too bad it\u2019s not going to last,’\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the best part of it was, after we met him and she had been dating him for a little while she said, \u2018Would you mind Craig, taking him to play?\u2019 And at first I said, \u2018No way, I\u2019m not going to do your dirty work for you. If he turns out to be a bad dude, I\u2019m not going to be the one to say,’\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we had a great time playing,\u201d he added, reporting that Barack had done fine.<\/p>\n
Still, the two have been the subject of divorce rumors for months. And Barack Obama delivered a remarkably candid admission regarding the state of his marriage to Michelle Obama in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in a deep deficit with my wife,\u201d Barack told Hamilton College President Steven Tepper in a conversation. \u201cSo I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former president has previously stated that his relationship with the former first lady suffered during his consecutive terms in office from 2009 to 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me just say this: It sure helps to be out of the White House and to have a little more time with her,\u201d Barack said in a May 2023 interview, making sure to praise Michelle for being \u201cforgiving\u201d of his shortcomings.<\/p>\n
Michelle Obama, meanwhile, responded to a surge of speculation about her marriage, stating unequivocally that recent personal decisions have nothing to do with her separation from the former president.<\/p>\n
During an appearance on Sophia Bush\u2019s Work in Progress podcast, the former first lady explained why she was withdrawing from certain public appearances, presenting them as purposeful choices for her well-being rather than signals of marital dysfunction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people. I mean, so much so that this year people were, you know, they couldn\u2019t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing,\u201d Michelle said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat this couldn\u2019t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?\u201d she continued. Obama added, \u201cThat\u2019s what society does to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
She clarified that women frequently feel pressure to defend their choices, especially when they don\u2019t align with expectations.<\/p>\n
Michelle Obama has dismissed rumors of marital trouble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michelle Obama\u2019s brother, Craig Robinson, revealed that he didn\u2019t expect her relationship with former President Barack Obama to last more than a month during a recent episode… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n