Former first lady Michelle Obama launched a new podcast this week with her brother, Craig Robinson, and there were some expectations that she would discuss the persistent rumors of marital troubles between her and her husband, former President Barack Obama.

Divorce was discussed in the first episode, albeit only that of Robinson, but one commentator believes the lack of much talk of the Obama marriage was revealing in and of itself, according to Radar Online.

Columnist Maureen Callahan surmised that the conversation exposed Michelle for her narcissistic personality and lingering bitterness over being dragged by Barack into the realm of politics that she has long despised.

Her brother's divorce

New York Magazine's Intelligencer reported that, despite expectations, the only divorce that came up during the first episode of Michelle Obama's new podcast, "IMO," was that of her co-host brother Craig Robinson.

In fact, much to the dismay of gossip hounds, the outlet noted the episode was "almost totally devoid of any juicy content -- let alone juicy content about the state of Michelle and Barack Obama’s marriage."

Instead, the Intelligencer suspected, the reason why the former president was only "mentioned several times in passing" is because there isn't much to discuss about the Obamas' marriage and that the speculation about a relationship on the rocks and an impending divorce are baseless and overblown.

Bitter and resentful

After checking out the first episode of Michelle Obama's podcast and the conversation about Robinson's prior divorce, Radara reported that Callahan said, "Yes: her brother's marital failure is cannon fodder for this otherwise pointless ego bath, this excruciating exercise in attempting to prove -- à la Meghan Markle -- that Michelle has more to offer than her marriage, which may or may not be ending."

"But that topic is clearly off-limits," she continued. "Relatedly, her older brother Craig, now 62 to her 61, seems a little bit afraid of her."

Callahan suggested that what little Michelle did have to say about Barack revealed her "ongoing bitterness" about his presidency and level of fame gained from political success that overshadows her own level of recognition.

"Which, by the way, is a losing game, because Barack will always be Number One -- perhaps the root of Michelle's apparent fury," the columnist said. "She is just as much of a narcissist as her husband."

"She is resentful, still, that her husband brought her and their girls into the White House, that his election made her the first black First Lady, and conferred upon her an immortality that no amount of books written or Netflix productions or podcasts launched will ever grant her," Callahan added. "It's Craig she thanks -- not, more appropriately, her husband -- for getting her through the 'hell' that was the White House."

Poor ratings for Michelle's new show

As it turned out, the expectations of a juicy revelation about the Obama marriage were not particularly widespread, at least if the viewership numbers for the first episode of Michelle's new podcast are any indication, according to the Daily Mail.

After launching the show on Wednesday, the episode on YouTube has only garnered around 160,000 views and Obama has only racked up about 27,000 subscribers on the platform, a far cry from the millions of subscribers and views that more established podcasters routinely receive.

"While other legacy podcasts have of course had longer to gain momentum, some critics have been quick to note that Michelle Obama's position as former First Lady ought to have created better traction in her launch week," the outlet noted. "With her already-celebrity status, successful book deals under her belt, and her powerful position in world politics, Michelle Obama's numbers so far have shocked some social media users."