Michelle Obama may be friends with Jill Biden, but she is rumored to have a fractured relationship with the rest of the Biden family. Reportedly, the issue stems from Hunter Biden’s bitter divorce with Kathleen Buhle — who became good friends with the former first lady during Barack Obama’s presidency. When Buhle filed for divorce in 2017, she famously claimed in court documents (via Page Six) that Hunter had spent a fortune on “drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations.” Buhle also delivered damning testimony in Hunter’s gun trial in June 2024 when she claimed that her ex owned up to smoking crack during their time together. Later that month, Axios reported that Michelle had distanced herself from the Bidens because she was upset with how the family treated Buhle post-divorce.
There have been multiple events that Barack had attended to support Joe Biden, but Michelle was noticeably absent. An insider told Axios this was Michelle’s way of showing solidarity with Buhle, but that claim was refuted by a spokesperson for the former first lady. “[S]he is friends with Kathleen and with the Bidens. Two things can be true,” they told the outlet. “The Biden and Obama families are like family to one other,” Andrew Bates, a White House rep, told Axios. Bates also told Business Insider that both Michelle and Barack were staunch supporters of Joe politically. However, the fact remained that Michelle had been conspicuously absent from events hosted by the Bidens since Buhle’s divorce.
Michelle Obama’s close friendship with Kathleen Buhle
In the fall of 2017, Michelle Obama did not accompany Barack Obama to a fundraiser for the Beau Biden Foundation. Prior to that event, Hunter Biden had started dating Beau’s widow, Hailie Biden. To further complicate the matter, the event was not long after Hunter and Kathleen Buhle had filed for divorce. Barack attended the fundraiser stag and was said to describe the Biden family dynamic as “weird s***,” per Axios.
Earlier that year, it appeared that Michelle had chosen sides in the Hunter-Buhle divorce. Photographers for the Daily Mail caught snaps of Buhle on a ski trip with both Sasha Obama and Malia Obama in March 2017 — although it was not confirmed if Michelle or Barack were also present.
Not only was Buhle seen spending time with the Obama daughters, but her own daughter had forged a friendship with Michelle’s youngest. “Maisy Biden, Kathleen’s youngest daughter, [is] particularly tight with Sasha Obama” a source told Page Six in May 2019. Some two years after the divorce from Hunter, Buhle remained tight with the Obamas. “One of her closest friends is Michelle Obama. They hang out a lot,” the insider added. Michelle spoke about the support she received from both her mother and Buhle in her memoir “The Light We Carry” in 2023. “[T]hey help me vent, they help me see myself. They give me laughter and love,” Michelle wrote (via People). Prior to that, Buhle released her own memoir which gave even more details about her time with Hunter.
Michelle Obama hesitated to endorse Joe Biden
In June 2022, Kathleen Buhle publicly broke her silence on her and Hunter Biden’s messy divorce in her memoir “If We Break.” Buhle spoke about her ex-husband’s exorbitant spending habits, which included $10,000 on a hot tub. “I found hundreds at liquor stores and strip clubs,” she wrote (via People). Buhle said that she became obsessed with tracking her husband’s spending habits at the tailend of their marriage. “The whole time, he told me he was healthy and sober — and I was crazy,” she added. Despite the tumultuous end of their relationship, Buhle told People that she had “forgiven” her ex.
Buhle may have shown forgiveness, but Michelle Obama still appeared on shaky ground with the Bidens. The former first lady spoke about Joe Biden’s potential bid for re-election in 2024, and she was hesitant to fully offer her endorsement. “You know … I will have to see,” she told CNN in November 2022. “It’s a personal decision that he and his family have to make,” she added. There was a growing belief that Michelle was hedging her bets in case she chose to run as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Amid political turmoil in the party — and rumblings about her lack of public support for Joe — many believed that Michelle was gunning to be POTUS. However, she has repeatedly denied such aspirations. “As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Crystal Carson, director of communications for her office, formally told NBC News in March 2024.
