Barack Obama admits he had to ‘dig himself out of a hole’ with Michelle amid divorce rumors

Barack Obama is opening up about the challenges he and his wife, Michelle Obama, have had throughout their marriage.

The 64-year-old former US President — who previously dispelled rumors that he and Michelle were getting divorced — discussed his relationship during an interview with historian David Olusoga at The O2 Arena in London on Wednesday.

“I was digging myself out of the hole I found myself with Michelle,” he said onstage at the event, according to the Daily Mail. “Now I’m at about level ground.”

In January, the longtime couple turned heads when Barack attended former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral without his wife. Days later, Michelle confirmed she wouldn’t attend Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration either, sparking rumors that she and Barack were splitting up.

However, only a few months later, Barack made a candid revelation about his relationship, explaining how his presidency affected his marriage of 32 years.

“I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” he said during a talk at Hamilton College in April. “I’ve been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”

Days later, Michelle officially addressed the rumors that she and her husband were getting a divorce, along with the reaction to her skipping Carter’s funeral and Trump’s inauguration.

“The interesting thing is that, when I say ‘no,’ for the most part people are like, ‘I get it, and I’m OK,’” she said, during an appearance on Sophia Bush’s Work in Progress podcast. “That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people. 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 for herself, right?” she added. “But that’s what society does to us. We start actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who 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.”

In June, Barack officially addressed the divorce rumors during an appearance on Michelle and her brother Craig Robinson’s podcast, IMO. As the “very, very, very special guest” walked onto the set, Robinson was shocked to see that the husband and wife “liked each other.”