Reading Sasha Obama’s expression was easy when she was seen in public for the first time amid swirling rumors about her parents’ potential divorce.
The 23-year-old daughter of Michelle and Barack Obama looked tense and preoccupied while walking in Los Angeles with a handful of books in her grip.
One of the books she carried was Bewilderment, a 2021 novel by Richard Power that narrates the emotionally charged tale of a widowed astrobiologist grappling with raising his neurodivergent son.
With its themes of loss, parental angst and resilience, the book is a heavy read – but perhaps apt for someone navigating a heartbreaking rift in her own family.
Dressed casually in a green cardigan, blue shirt and denim skirt, the former president’s daughter glanced periodically at her phone as she stepped out alone in search of literary therapy.
‘Sasha isn’t known for being especially smiley and upbeat. But on this occasion she looked truly miserable,’ an onlooker told DailyMail.com.
‘It’s not hard to understand why. It can’t be easy for her to hear all these reports about her parents splitting up, regardless of what the truth is behind the rumors.’
Tongues began to wag about the state of the Obamas’ 32-year marriage after Michelle, 61, skipped out on both Jimmy Carter’s funeral and the inauguration.
Michelle and Barack Obama’s youngest daughter Sasha appeared tense and preoccupied as she strolled through Los Angeles clutching a handful of books. It is the first time she’s been spotted since word of her parents’ split
Sasha was carrying the 2021 novel Bewilderment by Richard Power, which tells the emotion-charged story of a widowed astrobiologist struggling to raise his neurodivergent son. With its themes of loss, parental angst and resilience, the book is a heavy read – but perhaps apt for someone navigating a heartbreaking rift in her own family
Sources close to the former First Lady say she viscerally hates Trump and couldn’t bear to be there for his big day. ‘She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,’ a friend told People.
Her no-show at the Carter funeral was harder to explain given she had hailed his ‘integrity, respect and compassion’ in a joint statement with Barack.
And she was also conspicuous in her absence when her 63-year-old husband recently attended a ritzy dinner at DC hotspot Osterio Mozza on his own.
Michelle’s vanishing act also comes amid wild speculation about a blockbuster affair between the charismatic former commander-in-chief and Friends actress Jennifer Aniston.
Aniston, 55, was first romantically linked to Obama last year in a story published in a downmarket supermarket mag which promised ‘the truth about Jen & Barack’.
The rumor was compounded by the hosts of a popular pop culture podcast – Who? Weekly – who claimed that the Obamas were ‘living separate lives’ while he and Aniston were having a full-blown affair.
Aniston dismissed the article as ‘absolutely untrue.’ She told chat show host Jimmy Kimmel: ‘I’ve met him once. I know Michelle more than him.’
The Obamas put on a show of unity for Michelle’s 61st birthday, posing for a photo during a dinner date which Barack posted to Instagram and captioned: ‘Happy birthday to the love of my life.’
As recently as 2022, Michelle Obama admitted, in an interview, that she hated Barack for a good, solid decade. (The pair are pictured at the US Open in 2023)
Both Sasha and her older sister Malia girls are currently living in LA. Sasha graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2023 with a degree in sociology
Dressed casually in a green cardigan, blue shirt and denim skirt, the former president’s daughter glanced periodically at her phone as she stepped out alone in search of literary therapy
‘You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor and grace – and you look good doing it,’ he gushed.
‘I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you. Love you!’
Public figures including former NBC anchor Megyn Kelly are unconvinced.
Jennifer addressed the rumor on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where she said it was ‘absolutely untrue’
‘Did you see the post he put out to celebrate their anniversary? He chose the least attractive photo of her that’s ever been released. I mean, this is just wrong,’ Kelly told her viewers.
‘They’re about 20 feet apart in this intimate dinner. And he looks great. This is classic. He’s like, this is a great picture. He’s got the 1000-watt smile. She looks terrible.’
Barack and Michelle met in 1989 when they both worked at a law firm in Chicago. They married in 1992 and became the biggest power couple in Democrat politics.
Michelle has spoken candidly in the past, however, about the ‘resentment’ she harbored for having to put her own career on hold to be a mom while Barack’s flourished.
The former President also wrote a letter to an ex-girlfriend in his early twenties saying: ‘I make love to men daily, but in the imagination.’
Barack tried to shut down divorce rumors as he posted a gushing tribute to the ‘love of his life’ Michelle in honor of her 61st birthday earlier this month
Michelle has spoken candidly in the past about the ‘resentment’ she harbored for having to put her own career on hold to be a mom while Barack’s flourished
Their first daughter, Malia, was born in 1998, while they had Sasha in 2001. Both girls are currently living in LA, where Sasha graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2023 with a degree in sociology.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, her choice of reading material reflects a number of woke themes including environmental collapse and threats to democracy.
The deceased wife of the main character in Powers’ novel was a climate activist who perished in a car crash. There’s also a YouTuber named Inger Alder who bears a passing resemblance to Greta Thunberg.
The book was praised by Oprah Winfrey who selected it for Oprah’s Book Club in 2021. The leftwing Guardian newspaper described it as an ‘environmental polemic’ set in something akin to a ‘Trumpian second term.’
