Former first lady Michelle Obama has finally cleared the air about several issues. Not the least of which was the claim that she and the former president's marriage was on the rocks.

Obama was also conspicuously absent from the last presidential inauguration, which did not go unnoticed by the masses, as The Daily Mail reported.

According to Michelle, her husband, Barack Obama, former president and previously Illinois senator, was alone for several recent events, including former President Jimmy Carter's funeral, which was scant weeks before the inauguration.

The former first lady said she made the decision "for herself" about what she would attend, and what she wouldn't.

From Michelle on The Decision

For Michelle, part of the appeal of standing down at public events was staying away from the formal pomp and circumstance that comes along with being such a public figure.

It started with not having anything to wear," Michelle said in her latest podcast episode, "IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson."

"I mean, cause I'm always prepared for any funeral, anything," Obama added. "I walk around with the right dress, I travel with clothes just in case something pops off.

"So I was like, if I'm not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team, I don't even want to have a dress ready, right?"

About the Marriage

Her latest statements come during a concentrated effort by the pair to dispel rumors that they are having problems with their marriage.

On the weekend, they were all smiles as they walked through the busy Osteria Mozza in Georgetown. They stopped to wave at customers and swatted away any reports that didn't reflect them as the perfect couple

Also, the former first lady talked about the rumors in a recent podcast show with actress Sophia Bush called "Work in Progress."

"That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people," she said. "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. That this couldn't be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right?"

About Saying No

Michelle said she was taken aback by the amount of speculation surrounding her 32-year marriage, which she said was the outcome of a personal choice.

"My decision to skip the inauguration... or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism," she said.

"People couldn't believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart, you know?'

She encouraged young women to "practice... the art of saying no," asserting that it's a useful skill and a muscle that needs to be built up.

"After all that I've done in this world, if… I still have to show people that I love my country, that I'm doing the right thing... all I'm doing is keeping that crazy bar that our mothers and grandmothers set for us."