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This article was first published 12 years ago

When Michelle wanted divorce & Obama became suicidal

Last updated on: May 17, 2012 08:20 IST

Image: Barack and Michelle Obama
Photographs: White House Photos

Michelle Obama contemplated divorcing Barack Obama in 2000 after he ignored her advice not to run for a House seat in Chicago, making him so "depressed" that friends feared he might commit suicide, says a new book.

The other Michelle Obama in the White House

According to the book, Michelle prepared divorce papers in 2000 following Barack's disastrous attempt to win a House seat in Chicago -- in fact, as she was upset that he ignored her advice not to take on the four-term incumbent Bobby Rush.

Their marriage -- in its eighth year at the time -- was "on the rocks" with Barack so depressed some of his friends feared he was suicidal, author Edward Klein has claimed in his book, titled The Amateur.

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When Michelle wanted divorce & Obama became suicidal

Image: Michelle watches backstage as Obama delivers a speech
Photographs: White House Photos

"After Obama's humiliating defeat he was broke and deeply in debt, and it looked as though he might be finished in public life. During the dark days that followed his defeat, he turned to Michelle for comfort.

World's most powerful man is worth only Rs 43.3 crore!

"But she was in no mood to offer him sympathy. After all he had refused to listen to her warnings about taking on the formidable Bobby Rush. He had put his family in a precarious financial position. And he had dashed Michelle's hopes of creating a stable and secure future.

"As a result their marriage was on the rocks, and Obama confided to friends that he and Michelle were talking about divorce. Michelle actually had divorce papers drawn up," the author wrote, citing a friend of the Obamas.

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When Michelle wanted divorce & Obama became suicidal

Image: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait in the Green Room of the White House
Photographs: White House Photos

The claims mark the second time the Obamas have faced allegations they were on the verge of divorce after reports in 2010 suggested they were having difficulties, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.

The couple appear to have worked out their differences, however -- Barack Obama ran for a Senate seat in Illinois and won it in, assuming office in 2005 and restoring his wife's faith in him.

The couple have admitted that in the past they did go through a rough patch but that they patched things up and grew closer together. The Obamas have now been married for 21 years and have two children, Malia, 13, and Sasha, nine.

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