‘We Will Be Married Forever’ – Michelle Obama Admits 10 ‘Bad Years’ with Barack but Says Quitting Was Never an Option

By Mohar Battacharjee | Published on August 8, 2025

Divorce rumors have been swirling around Michelle and Barack Obama for months now, but time and again, the former first couple shows the world what real married life actually looks like messy moments, tough seasons, yet very much in love with each other.

Speaking on the August 6 episode of her Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast, the former first lady addressed both the whispers about their relationship and the realities of a three-decade-long marriage, reports RadarOnline. Michelle, now 62, didn’t shy away from admitting that even her union with the former president has had rough patches, the kind of years when, as she put it, “you’re struggling to find that connection.”

“A lot of people joke about the fact that it’s like, there are 10 years when I didn’t like my husband, right?” she said, referencing her now-famous confession that she “couldn’t stand” Barack for a decade of their nearly 33-year marriage.

Despite that candor, Michelle made one thing absolutely clear: there’s no divorce on the horizon. “We’ve been married for 30 years, and we will be married forever. So, let’s say we live long. It will be 50-plus years. And if 10 of those years were bad, you know, anybody would take those odds,” she explained, noting that the lows are just part of the bigger picture.

Michelle then broke down what she calls “marital math,” a realistic way to look at long-term relationships. “People don’t tend to think in terms of odds and numbers. Of course, you’re going to have years if you add up the days and the hours where you’re struggling to find that connection,” she said. “That is a normal experience. You would have that if you lived with your best friend for 30 years — 10 of those years you would hate each other. But you don’t throw out a relationship or marriage because of a couple of bad years.”

She also used her own marriage as a cautionary example for younger couples, who she worries often give up too quickly when times get hard. “I think more married couples need to talk more honestly about what marriage really is, because I see too many young people quitting on relationships,” Michelle warned.

For her, the lesson is simple. Long-lasting love isn’t about constant butterflies or perfect harmony. It’s about compromise, resilience, and staying in the fight even when it’s uncomfortable. Without that, she says, people will “end up alone” because they’re unwilling to put in the work. Her remarks come as the “Divorce of the Century” rumors continue to circulate online, with tabloids speculating about cracks in the Obamas’ marriage. But as Michelle’s latest comments make clear, she and Barack see those rough patches as part of the deal, not a reason to walk away, ever.

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