Michelle Obama is finally addressing her absence from President Donald Trump‘s inauguration in January. At the swearing-in ceremony, where former First Wives often attend, the 44th First Lady was a no-show, with her husband, Barack Obama, attending solo. Weeks before the inauguration, Michelle was also absent from the late President Jimmy Carter’s funeral. It didn’t take long for fans to speculate that her absence from public events is due to marital struggles. However, the Becoming author is sharing her truth, calling it an act of “radical self-care.”
Mrs. Obama spilled the tea on Wednesday’s episode of IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson. Explaining why she skipped the ceremony, the former first lady revealed she is now defining life on her terms since she turned 60.
As part of that journey, she turned to therapy to process the eight years she and Barack spent in the White House. Michelle learned it was important to practice saying “no” intentionally, which she did for the inauguration ceremony. However, it wasn’t appreciated.
“What people don’t realize…My decision to make choice at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism. People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason, they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”
The 61-year-old explained to guest Taraji P. Henson that skipping the inauguration wasn’t a decision that came easy. “It took everything in my power to not do the thing that was perceived as right, but do the things that was right for me. That was a hard thing for me to do,” Michelle confessed.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama ‘Tricked’ Herself To Skip Inauguration
Given how difficult it was for Michelle Obama to not attend the swearing, the activist said she had to “basically trick” herself to follow through. “It started with not having anything to wear,” she recalled. “I was like, if I’m not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team, I don’t even want to have a dress ready, right? Because it’s so easy to just say, let me do the right thing.”
However, Michelle, who is a staunch Trump critic, has no regret about missing the inauguration despite the backlash she received. The New York Times best-selling author wants women of all ages to take a leaf from her book by saying “no” more.
This isn’t the first time Michelle Obama has addressed her newfound independence amid her almost 30-year marriage to Barack. During an appearance on the Work in Progress podcast earlier this month, the mother-of-two spoke about women struggling with disappointing others with their choices.
