Michelle Obama Reveals She’s in Therapy: ‘Every Choice That I’m Making is Completely Mine’

Michelle Obama has looked to therapy to help her process the new stage of her life.

Mental health maintenance is a necessity, and the former First Lady realized she needed therapy as her roles as a mother, wife and advocate were shifting. Joined by her brother, Craig Robinson, who co-hosts the IMO Podcast with her, Mrs. Obama was a recent guest on On Purpose with Jay Shetty. Around the 1:09:00 mark of the episode below, the author and attorney explained why she needed therapy as a "tune-up."

"At this phase of my life I'm in therapy right now because I'm transitioning," she said.

Mrs. Obama added that she's finished "a really hard thing" by keeping her family "intact," meaning her husband, 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, 63, and their daughters, Malia, 26, and Sasha, 23.

"I'm an empty nester, my girls are in...you know, they've been launched," Mrs. Obama continued. "And now, for the first time, as I've said before, every choice that I’m making is completely mine."

With former President Obama no longer being in office and Malia and Sasha having graduated from college, Mrs. Obama no longer has strict wifely and parental duties.

"I now don't have the excuse of, 'Well, my kids need this' or 'My husband needs that' or 'The country needs that,'" she said.

"So how do I think about this next phase? And let me get some help. Let me unwind some old habits. Let me sort through some old guilt that I've been carrying around. Let me talk about how my relationship with my mother has affected how I think about things."

Mrs. Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, died last May at 86 years old.

"So I'm getting that tuneup for this next phase because I believe this is a whole other phase in life for me," Mrs. Obama said, adding that she considers therapy "coaching" and that she's an "advocate" for it.

Mrs. Obama's explanation of why she's in therapy should shut down ongoing divorce rumors about her and her husband of 33 years. Around the 1:22:00 mark of The Diary of a CEO podcast episode last week, Mrs. Obama said that "everyone would know" if her marriage was ending, because she'd be "problem-solving in public."