THE RUMOUR MILL was in full swing when former first lady Michelle Obama was absent from two major political events in January.

She was absent from the funeral of former US president Jimmy Carter and also missed the inauguration of Donald Trump.

While her absence at Carter’s funeral was attributed to a scheduling conflict, a statement about her absence from the inauguration did not include an explanation.

Meanwhile, her husband and former US president Barack Obama has been spotted at some events, such as basketball games, without Michelle.

All of this sparked rumours of a possible divorce, but on a recent podcast appearance, Michelle Obama said her recent absences are due to her now making “a choice for myself”.

Speaking this week on an episode of Work in Progress, a podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush, Obama said: “I chose to do what’s best for me, not what I had to do.”

She added that 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 for herself, right? But that is what society does to us.”

Obama said she felt a degree of guilt for stepping back from some events and remarked: “That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people.”

However, she added: “I get to look at my calendar, which I did this year, was a real big example of me 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.”

The Obamas celebrated their 32nd anniversary in October.