Michelle Obama opens up about feeling ‘completely free’ for the first time in years

Michelle Obama has admitted she finally feels ‘free’ and able to make decisions ‘totally’ for herself without having to think about her politician husband or their two adult daughters.

Michelle, 61, served as the First Lady of the United States during her 63-year-old husband Barack Obama’s first and second terms in the White House (2009-2017).

During her tenure, the Illinois native helped raise her and her spouse’s two daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, when their dad was elected the 44th president.

As well as parenting and working as an advocate for causes, tackling poverty awareness and physical activity, Michelle attended various foreign trips during her time in office.

She backed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign, and later wrote two books: Becoming and The Light We Carry, among a plethora of other ventures.

Michelle Obama has discussed making decisions for herself during an episode of her podcast (michelleobama/Instagram)

In recent months, Michelle has opted not to attend high-profile events with her husband, including the funeral of Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, it appears she has an empty nest, revealing in 2022 that both her children had exited the family home and moved to Los Angeles together, as per People.

The former first lady has discussed her newfound freedom on a recent episode of her IMO Podcast, which she shares with her brother Craig Robinson, 53.

"I mean at this stage in life for me, personally, is the first time I've been completely free," she told The Office actor and special guest, comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 64.

“There's been a release where every choice I make is not about my husband, not about his career, not about my family, not about what my kids need or where they're going, it's totally about me," she continued. "This is when we start living ladies."

Earlier this year, Michelle addressed divorce rumors and the speculation surrounding her marriage to Obama after skipping events.

“That's the thing that we as women struggle with — disappointing people,” she said on Sophia Bush’s Work in Progress podcast in April.

Barack Obama and Michelle have been married since 1992 (Instagram/barackobama)

“I mean, so much so that this year people couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself. That they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.

"This couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions herself, right? But that's what society does to us," she continued.

"We start actually going, ‘What am I? What am I doing? What am I doing this for?’ And if it doesn't fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible."

During a conversation with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper in April, Obama claimed he and his wife were in a ‘deep deficit’ after his two terms in the Oval Office came to an end.

“So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things,” he explained.

In May, Obama paid tribute to his wife for Mother’s Day. He shared a black and white photo of Michelle with their two daughters to Instagram and wrote: “Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms and mother-figures!

“@MichelleObama, the girls and I are so lucky to have you in our lives. We love you.”

Despite the social media tribute, Michelle has previously said that she and her husband try not to 'Instagram every minute of [their] lives'.

"You just are not going to know what we're doing every minute of the day, you know, and yes, I guess we're famous but we're 60 we don't take selfies," she said during a recent appearance on NPR's Wild Card podcast with host Rachel Martin.