Quick Take
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Michelle Obama is seeking therapy to navigate a personal transition.
She emphasized the importance of therapy during her life changes at 60.
Her comments followed speculation about a potential divorce from Barack.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama shared that she is seeking therapy to navigate the “next phase of her life.” With her daughters grown, her public service work concluded, and her focus now on herself for the first time in years, she emphasised the importance of therapy in navigating this personal shift. Her comments follow speculation about a possible divorce from former President Barack Obama.
“At this phase of my life, I’m in therapy right now because I’m transitioning, you know? I’m 60 years old, I finished a really hard thing in life with my family intact. I’m an empty nester. You know my girls are in — they’ve been launched. And now for the first time, as I’ve said before, every choice I’m making is completely mine,” she said in an interview with the Jay Shetty Podcast.
The former First Lady said a combination of being out of public service and her children being fully grown has left her in a situation where “every choice that I’m making is completely mine”.
“I now don’t have the excuse of, ‘Well, my kids need this,’ or ‘my husband needs that, ‘ or ‘the country needs that.’ So, how do I think about this next phase? Let me get some help,” she added.
Mrs Obama, a longtime advocate for therapy, compared it to getting a “tune-up.” She explained that, having practiced therapy for years, she feels this is the ideal moment for it, as she transitions into a new phase of life, fully aware of her past experiences and current needs. She acknowledged that she was able to “unwind some old habits” and “sort through some old guilt” during therapy sessions.
Notably, her absence from events such as President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter earlier this year prompted speculation that the Obamas were not in good health.
Mrs Obama revealed that stepping away from certain high-profile commitments was a deliberate choice rooted in self-care. “I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year, was a real big example of me, myself looking at something that I was supposed to do – you know, without naming names – and I chose to do what was best for me, not what I had to do, not what I thought other people wanted me to do,” she said.
The Obamas have been married for 32 years and are parents to two daughters.
