Overview

• Speaking with historian David Olusoga at London's O2 Arena on Sept. 24, Obama said he had been “digging myself out of the hole” with Michelle and is now “about level ground.”
• The remark updates similar comments he made earlier this year, when he described being in a “deep deficit” with his wife and working to repair the relationship post-presidency.
• Michelle Obama has repeatedly rejected divorce speculation, saying on her IMO podcast in July: “There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man.”
• Recent appearances have underscored a united front, including a joint IMO episode where Barack joked “She took me back” and a new public sighting together in Portofino, Italy, last weekend.
• During the O2 event, Obama also criticized the administration’s suggestion of a Tylenol–autism link and urged a fuller accounting of the costs of pandemic-era school closures.