Former President Barack Obama discussed the strain his time in office placed on his marriage to Michelle Obama, admitting that he spent years working to repair the relationship after leaving the White House, as reported by Page Six.

Speaking at the O2 Arena in London on Wednesday, Obama told historian David Olusoga and the audience, “I was digging myself out of the hole I found myself with Michelle. Now I’m at about level ground.”

Barack Obama Says He’s Trying To Dig Himself Out of Hole With Wife Michelle | Click to read more https://t.co/zueuuFeuOJ

— TMZ (@TMZ) April 5, 2025

The remarks echoed previous comments the former president has made in other public appearances. In April, during a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper, Obama reflected on the impact his two terms in office had on his personal life.

“I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” Obama said at the time. “So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”

In May 2023, Obama told audiences during a talk connected to his work as narrator of Our Oceans that stepping away from the presidency gave him more time with Michelle. “Being out of the White House allowed me to have a little more time with her,” he said.

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Rumors about trouble in the Obamas’ marriage gained traction in early 2025, when Michelle Obama was noticeably absent from public events.

She skipped the January 9 funeral of former President Jimmy Carter and did not attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Barack Obama attended both events without her. Reports at the time suggested she had taken an extended vacation in Hawaii.

Sources close to the family told media outlets that Michelle had been less engaged in public life since the family’s departure from Washington in 2017.

Her absence fueled speculation, but Barack pushed back against rumors of divorce by posting a birthday message calling Michelle the “love of [his] life” in January and sharing a photo with her on Valentine’s Day in February.

Michelle Obama herself addressed the speculation in April during an interview on Sophia Bush’s Work in Progress podcast. “That’s the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people,” she said.

“So much so that people, 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 couple met in 1989 at a Chicago law firm and married in 1992. They have two daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24.

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