Former President George W. Bush Was Really 'Mad' His Daughter Asked Him About The Obama Divorce Rumors

Jenna Bush, daughter of former President George W. Bush, recently revealed that she asked her father for his thoughts on the divorce rumors surrounding Michelle and Barack Obama.

Jenna's revelation comes a day after Barack and Michelle Obama appeared together on an episode of the former First Lady's podcast, "IMO," where they addressed the rumors head-on.

While appearing on an episode of "Today with Jenna & Friends," Jenna said that she once called her father, who served in the Oval Office from 2001 to 2009, to ask whether he believed the rumors that Michelle and Barack were going through a rough patch in their marriage.

According to the 43-year-old, her father shut the conversation down, saying, "'I don't believe it. It's not true,'" to which she replied, "Okay, love you.'"

As Jenna continued sharing more about their phone call, the mother of three admitted her father was "kind of mad" she "even called to ... ask."

"He was like, 'That isn't true. I know them and it isn't true,'" Jenna shared. "Sometimes when you're in the public eye like that, those rumors start."

On the latest episode of "IMO," Barack, who was sworn into office on January 20, 2009, joined his wife, Michelle, and her brother, Craig Robinson, to discuss their relationship and parenthood.

The conversation began with Robinson breaking the ice, saying, "What, you guys like each other?" to which Michelle replied, "Oh, yeah, the rumor mill."

Clearly joking, Barack jumped in on the fun, adding, "She took me back! It was touch and go for a while."

Michelle stated, "When we aren't [in the same room], folks think we're divorced." However, divorce was never an option for the couple.

"There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man," she said, adding, "And we've had some really hard times. So we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I'm married to."

Later, during the episode, Barack admitted he didn't see the rumors about his marriage to Michelle ever coming.

"These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right? So I don't even know this stuff's going on," he said. "And then somebody will mention it to me, and I'm all like, 'What are you talking about?'"

The divorce rumors began to circulate in early 2025, after Michelle was noticeably absent from several events the public expected her to attend, such as former President Jimmy Carter's funeral and Donald Trump's inauguration.

However, Michelle's absence wasn't a sign of struggle.

“My decision to skip the inauguration—or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me—were met with such ridicule and criticism,” she said in a previous interview. “People couldn't believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”

She continued, “I'm here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me. And it took everything in my power to not do the thing that ‘was right,’ or was perceived as right, but do the things that was right for me.”

Michelle went on to say that making decisions for oneself is something "women struggle with;" however, she's decided to put herself first moving forward.

"It's the first time in my life all of my choices are for me," she said. "I think if I'm honest with myself, I could have made a lot of these decisions years ago. But I didn't give myself that freedom."

Michelle also opened up about her journey in therapy over the last several years to address some hard truths.

"Going through therapy is getting me to look at the fact that maybe, finally, I'm good enough," she said. "Then, trying to actively practice something different to rewire those neurons in my head that make me keep pushing and striving. And practicing 'no' in a very different way intentionally."