Michelle Obama and her famous husband, former President Barack Obama, have been the subject of divorce speculation for months. And while neither one of them have taken the time to publicly dispel it in all this time, it looks like the former First Lady has finally decided to indirectly quiet the chatter once and for all.
Speaking at SXW recently during a live taping of “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” the newly released podcast between her and her brother, Michelle touched on how she and her husband stay hopeful during uncertain times and how they push past “negative energy.”
And while she didn’t mention the divorce rumors specifically, she addressed the fact that she and her family have been the subject of “a lot of gossip” and detailed how they were able to keep their wits about them moving forward.
“Let me tell you, there was a lot of negative energy flipping our way — a lot of rumors, a lot of gossip, a lot of, you know, my husband wasn’t born in this country, we weren’t patriotic, he didn’t get into Harvard,” she said per PEOPLE. “But through it all, what kept us sane — and we tried to instill this in our daughters — is, you cannot live through social media. I don’t think I have ever once looked at a comment section, period.”
Michelle went on to stress the importance of not letting the comment section and the negativity that often accompanies it get inside people’s psyche and to be mindful of the types of stories people are ingesting.
She also explained that folks ought to be mindful not to get “trapped” by social media and figure out healthier ways to stay informed all while bypassing the online drama.
Michelle’s comments and appearance at SXSW come weeks and weeks after some notable absences on her part. One of those includes an LA Clippers game (in which Barack appeared alone and received a standing ovation) and the inauguration of President Donald Trump back in January—which she did not attend.