Michelle Obama’s Podcast Remark About Being ‘Single’ Turns Heads

Former First Lady Michelle Obama sparked a fresh wave of speculation about troubles in her marriage to former President Barack Obama after making an eyebrow-raising comment about being “single” during a recent episode of her podcast.

In the latest installment of her program, IMO [In My Opinion], Michelle sat down with her brother Craig Robinson and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. What began as a lighthearted conversation quickly took an unexpected turn when Michelle appeared to flirt—however jokingly—with the tech billionaire.

“You know, I have to say, Brian, if I’m a single girl out there and I find out that Brian Chesky is single and I could like stay in his house -” she began, before Robinson jumped in.

“Here she goes, right to the relationship!” he said, adding: “Brian, you don’t have to feel pressure.”

Chesky, unfazed, chimed in easily: “Her and her husband have tried to set me up before.”

Michelle followed by insisting she was “very invested in Brian’s love life,” prompting Chesky to reply that he “appreciated” her involvement.

The light banter might have gone unnoticed if not for the long-running public whispers about tension between the Obamas—rumors intensified by Michelle’s absence from President Donald Trump’s historic second-term inauguration and from the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.

Those questions resurfaced only weeks ago when Barack Obama admitted he is in a “deep deficit with my wife” and has been attempting to make amends by planning more enjoyable time together. Michelle has meanwhile aired her own grievances, including his habitual lateness and a tendency to avoid meaningful discussion during golf outings with friends, according to DailyMail.com.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson seized on Michelle’s remarks, telling podcaster Megyn Kelly that the former First Lady “really dislikes her husband, and it’s super obvious.”

“I’m not just saying that to be catty… I think I’m trying to feel compassion for her but her hostility toward the guy is unbelievable,” Carlson added.

He went on to warn that “there’s nothing more destabilizing than an unhappy marriage.”

Kelly agreed, saying “everything Michelle says about her husband is negative.”

“I almost never say negative things about Doug,” she said of her own husband. “He’s not perfect, but when I think about him, I don’t immediately go to whatever is negative. I go to what’s positive and what I love about him.”

But during a recent appearance on entrepreneur Steven Bartlett’s podcast, Michelle pushed back against the swirl of rumors—including those sparked by her notable refusal to attend President Trump’s inauguration.

Bartlett noted the widespread chatter, telling her that many interpreted her public absences as evidence that “there’s an issue with you and Barack, there’s a divorce coming.”

Michelle brushed off the claims.

“Let me tell you, he would know it,” she said, pointing at her brother. “And everybody would know it.”

“If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,” she said with a laugh.

Robinson joked, “If they were having a problem, I’d be doing a podcast with him.”

Michelle went on to describe Barack as her “person,” adding, “The beauty of my husband and our partnership is that neither one of us was ever really, ever going to quit at it, because that’s not who we are. And I know that about him. He knows that about me.”

She then said many young Americans abandon marriage too easily, in part because they bought into media fantasies portraying her relationship as “perfect.”

“I talk about these things because I think that people give up too quickly on marriage,” she said.

Despite her attempt to shut the door on the rumors, Michelle’s latest podcast moment—complete with references to being “a single girl”—appears likely to keep speculation alive.