Former First Lady Michelle Obama opened up about her recent absence from political events and rumors of marital issues, explaining she’s finally prioritizing herself. On the “Work in Progress” podcast with Sophia Bush, she shared, *“I now have the opportunity to handle my own calendar and can now make a choice for myself.”*

Obama reflected on the pressure she used to feel to meet others’ expectations, saying, *“I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago, but I didn’t give myself that freedom.”* This year, she chose to skip certain unnamed events, doing what was best for her instead: *“Not what I had to do, not what I thought other people wanted me to do.”*

While she continues to work on projects like girls’ education and the Obama Presidential Library, she admitted that her personal choices have sparked speculation: *“People couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself… they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.”*

In her memoir *Becoming*, she previously shared how Barack Obama’s presidency strained their marriage due to loneliness and exhaustion.

Despite stepping back, she remains politically vocal: *“Please, please do not hand our fates over to the likes of Trump… A vote for him is a vote against us.”*