CHEERS!

Michelle and Barack Obama Slap Back at Divorce Rumors With Birthday Pic

The former first lady sparked speculation by skipping Jimmy Carter’s funeral and announcing she won’t be at her husband’s side for the Trump inauguration.

Michelle and Barack Obama have hit back at wild rumors over their relationship with an intimate photo of them holding hands.

The former president posted the picture with a gushing message on Instagram to celebrate his wife’s 61st birthday on Friday.

The couple are holding hands across the table in what looks like a vault with racks of wine.

In a caption, Obama wrote: “Happy birthday to the love of my life, @MichelleObama. You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life’s adventures with you. Love you!”

The post quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of adoring comments, with one fan writing: “Pres. Obama, with nothing but love and respect, I recommend you take Michelle on a nice long, much-deserved vacation this weekend and don’t come back until say, Tuesday.”

The reference pointedly suggested the couple should skip Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Michelle reposted the photo with a rather less gushy post, saying, “Love you, honey!” with a heart and a kiss emoji.

Rumors had been swirling about the couple after Michelle Obama broke with protocol and said she would not be attending Trump’s swearing-in with her husband.

Gossips suggested their 32-year marriage could be on the rocks because they hadn’t been spotted together in recent weeks. While observers were not surprised the former first lady may not have had an appetite for ushering in a second Trump presidency, she also missed Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9, citing a “scheduling conflict.”

The couple was reportedly last seen together at a dinner date in Los Angeles in mid-December, according to reports.

Before that, actress Jennifer Aniston, 55, was forced to publicly dismiss an “absolutely untrue” allegation in a gossip magazine that she was in a relationship with the 44th president and that his wife felt “betrayed.”

NO HOLDING BACK

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“I’ve met him once,” the former Friends star said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “I know Michelle more than him.”

“Of all the calls you get from your publicist, where you’re just like, ‘Oh, no, what’s it gonna be?’ or the email saying, you know, some cheesy tabloid is gonna make up a story, and then it’s that. I was not mad at it,” she laughed.

Last year, on Michelle’s 60th birthday, Barack Obama posted a photo of his wife in a yellow dress against an ocean backdrop. He wrote: “Happy birthday to my better half — who happens to be one of the funniest, smartest, most beautiful people I know. @MichelleObama, you make every day better. I can’t wait to see what this new decade brings you.”

The two-term president is a wine fan. In 2017, there was a run on a Spanish wine—a Pezo do Rei Ribeira Sacra—after he served it at a D.C. gala to celebrate the United States Hispanic community. The tipple was nicknamed “Obama’s wine.”

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David GardnerChief National Correspondent

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