Whispers of a potential rift between Barack and Michelle Obama have gripped social media following Michelle's unexpected absence from two major events.

There are growing rumors among Washington DC insiders that Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage may be in trouble

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will come together again next week for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, but one spouse, Michelle Obama, is sitting this one out.

It turns out there’s a pretty simple reason Michelle Obama doesn’t plan to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. She doesn’t have to and she doesn’t want to.

Michelle Obama’s decided to ditch Donald Trump’s inauguration to avoid fake celebrating for the sake of “protocol.” “There’s no overstating her feelings about [Trump]. She’s not one to plaster on a pleasant face and pretend for protocol’s sake,

She’s never been fake… She’s always been very deliberate about where and how she shows up,” a source told Page Six.

Social media users are suggesting that the couple may be experiencing marital difficulties, especially following their absence from public functions together in recent weeks.

The couple first met while working in a law firm in Chicago in 1989 and got married in 1992. They have two daughters together, Malia and Sasha Obama.