Michelle Obama finally speaks out: Here's why she skipped Donald Trump’s Inauguration

Michelle Obama is speaking for the first time about her decision to skip President Donald Trump’s second inauguration — and she isn’t holding back.

During the April 23 episode of her “IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” podcast, co-hosted with her brother, the former first lady addressed the public scrutiny and rumors that followed her absence.

“My decision to skip the inauguration — or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me — were met with such ridicule and criticism,” Michelle Obama said.

Debunking divorce rumors

Michelle Obama made clear that skipping the event had nothing to do with her marriage to former President Barack Obama, responding to viral rumors that claimed their relationship was on the rocks.

“People couldn't believe that I was saying no for any other reason. They had to assume that my marriage was falling apart,” she noted.

Choosing herself over perception

Michelle Obama emphasised that she deliberately chose what was right for her, even if it meant going against public expectations.

“It took everything in my power to not do the thing that 'was right,' or was perceived as right, but do the things that was right for me,” Obama said.

She even shared how she mentally committed to not attending the event: “It started with not having anything to wear. 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,'” she revealed. “Because it's so easy to just say 'let me do the right thing.'"

Therapy and saying 'no'

Obama, 60, shared that therapy has played a significant role in helping her learn to say no, including skipping other high-profile events such as former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.

“Going through therapy is getting me to look at the fact that maybe, maybe finally I’m good enough,” she reflected.

She also noted that attending events separately from her husband is part of her evolving strategy to set healthy boundaries.

“It’s a muscle that you have to build,” she said of saying no. “And I think we suffered, because it's almost like we started training late in life to build that muscle, right? I am just now starting to build it.”

Empowering the next generation

Michelle Obama expressed a desire for younger women, especially her daughters Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23, to start breaking cycles of self-sacrifice early.

“I want our daughters… I want my girls to start practicing different strategies for saying 'no.'”

She added that constantly striving to be a symbol of moral perfection sends the wrong message.

“After all that I've done in this world… if I am still showing them that I have to … go high all the time, even in the face of a lot of hypocrisy and contradiction, all I’m doing is keeping that crazy bar that our mothers and grandmothers set for us.”