Michelle Obama Reflects on the Warning Signs Before Brother Craig Robinson’s Marriage Unraveled

Michelle Obama and her sibling, Craig Robinson, are recalling the challenging phase when the former first lady discovered his marriage was disintegrating.

In the inaugural episode of the pair’s new podcast, titled IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, Obama elaborated on the red flags she neglected while Robinson’s marriage to ex-wife Janis Robinson was “falling apart” in 2000.

Robinson, 62, did not inform his younger sister about his initial divorce during its occurrence, he disclosed — nor did he tell their mother or anyone else in his inner circle. Obama, 61, stated that she did not completely realize they were facing difficulties because he minimized the situation.

Robinson mentioned in the episode that he was trying his utmost to “delay sharing with everyone” for a particular cause.

“I know my sister and I thought if I reveal this to her, she’s never going to move past it,” Robinson articulated. “And if we ever reconciled, it wouldn’t be beneficial for my first wife.”

Obama and Robinson have consistently shared a strong connection, so she quickly perceived that “something was amiss.”

When Obama realized her brother had concealed such a significant life event from her, she felt considerable resentment towards him, Robinson stated. He subsequently vowed to not withhold anything from her moving forward.

“I believed I noticed some issues that were warning signs, but I would always just ask, ‘How are you?’ and the response would be, ‘We’re great, we’re fine,’ ” Obama reminisced.

She added, “Even though you might think I wouldn’t have been able to manage it, I would have composed myself to offer you sound advice and remain impartial. However, I felt as if the person I relied on the most, someone I could confide in about anything, didn’t feel he could approach me when he was confronting a highly difficult situation in his life, which was his marriage disintegrating.”

“That was a blunder,” Robinson acknowledged.

Robinson, currently the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, remarried to Kelly McCrum in 2006, but has largely kept much of his personal affairs away from the public eye.

Robinson and Obama revealed their podcast on March 10, with plans to feature a variety of notable guests and friends on the program.

During this generally turbulent time, the brother-sister pair expressed their hope that the podcast assists others in managing shifting circumstances in family, faith, and relationships to “offer encouragement.”

“My brother Craig and I initiated the IMO podcast to establish a welcoming environment for individuals to be themselves, pose genuine questions, express their views, and engage in insightful discussions about life,” Obama stated in the announcement.