Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama were recently seen enjoying a rare night out together in New York City, even as rumors about potential marital tension continue to circulate.

According to The New York Post, this marked the first public sighting of the Obamas together in over six months.

However, the brief outing did little to stop the speculation. The couple was photographed leaving the Lowell Hotel, flanked by a full Secret Service detail. Michelle, now 61, led the way to their waiting SUV, dressed in a black dress and matching heels, smiling at those nearby.

Barack, by contrast, appeared more reserved. Onlookers noted the striking difference between Michelle’s poised, cheerful demeanor and the former president’s somber, unsmiling expression.

Rumors of a rift between the two have been ongoing for months.

Michelle has notably skipped a number of major public events this year, including President Biden’s inauguration and the funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, absences that have only fueled public speculation.

In a recent appearance on “The Jay Shetty Podcast,” Michelle shared that she’s currently in therapy as she navigates what she described as “the next phase” of her life.

“At this phase of my life, I’m in therapy right now because I’m transitioning, you know?” she said.

“I’m 60 years old, I’ve finished a really hard thing in my life with my family intact, I’m an empty nester, my girls are in – you know, they’ve been launched,” she said.

Michelle explained that now, with her daughters grown and her time in the White House behind her, she is finally able to make decisions for herself. “Every choice that I’m making is completely mine,” she added. “I now don’t have the excuse of, ‘Well, my kids need this,’ or ‘My husband needs that,’ or ‘The country needs that.’”

“So, I’m getting that tune-up for this next phase because I believe this is a whole ‘nother phase in life for me,” she continued. “And I now have the wisdom to know—let me go get some coaching while I’m doing it.”

These remarks came just a few weeks after Michelle addressed the growing public curiosity surrounding her marriage to Barack Obama. On the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush, she pushed back against suggestions that her personal decisions—such as skipping high-profile events—reflected any marital discord.

“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people,” she said. “I mean, so much so that this year people were, you know, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.”

Michelle also reflected on how she’s begun reevaluating her life and priorities. “We start actually, finally going, ‘What am I doing? Who am I doing this for?’” she said. “And if it doesn’t fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible.”

Adding further intrigue, the former first lady made a light-hearted comment about being single on a recent episode of her podcast during a conversation with Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky.

“You know, I have to say, Brian, if I’m a single girl out there and I find out that Brian Chesky is single and I could like stay in his house -” she said.

Chesky joined in the playful banter, responding, “Her and her husband have tried to set me up before.”