Former US President Barack Obama shared an affectionate birthday wish to his wife on Friday amid wild rumours that the couple were heading for divorce.
Barack Obama posted a photo on Instagram of the couple having dinner together on Michelle’s birthday, seemingly dispelling the rumours. In the post, he referred to her as “the love of my life” along with a photo depicted the couple dressed casually, holding hands while seated for dinner in a room lined with wine bottles. “Happy birthday to the love of my life, @MichelleObama. You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you. Love you!” the former president said in the post on his social media handles.
Michelle replied to the wish with a “love you honey” with a heart emoji and an emoji of a face blowing a kiss; seemingly convincing many that the couple were still going strong, as seen in the comments.
Many wished the ex-first lady and also said that they understood not wanting to spend the birthday weekend at the inauguration. However, some others were still not convinced nitpicking the photo calling it fake or non-romantic while questioning the distance and believing the smiles were fake. Several others simply saw it as their way of quashing the divorce rumours.
Speculation about a potential rift between the couple began after it was announced that Michelle would not attend the inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday, leaving Obama to attend the event alone. She also missed the state funeral of Jimmy Carter earlier this month, citing a scheduling conflict, and was later reported to be vacationing in Hawaii without her husband. The Obamas have not been frequently seen together in public since delivering speeches at the Democratic Convention five months ago.
The speculation were further fueled by a body language specialist Judi James, who analysed the Obamas’ public appearance in mid-December during their dinner outing in Los Angeles. She observed that Barack appeared solemn and chose to walk behind Michelle rather than beside her, with no conversation between them.
The expert noted that whilst Michelle initially displayed a relaxed and cheerful demeanour on their way to the vehicle, there was a noticeable absence of mutual interaction for the photographers. Upon entering the car, Michelle’s smile disappeared, and both she and Barack gazed straight ahead without engaging with each other.
Michelle Obama, 61, did attend the first Trump inauguration in 2017. Her absence from Jimmy Carter’s funeral raised eyebrows, particularly when Obama was seen engaging in friendly conversation with Trump at the event.
Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, as well as Joe and Jill Biden, are expected to attend the upcoming inauguration. While no official reason has been provided for Michelle’s absence, she has been vocal about her disapproval of Trump, accusing him of racism during last year’s Democratic National Convention.
Also, her decision to skip the inauguration is not unprecedented, as Donald Trump and his wife Melania were absent from Joe Biden‘s inauguration four years ago following Trump’s refusal to accept his election defeat in 2020.
