Michelle Obama Breaks Silence on Skipping Donald Trump's Inauguration

“I'm here really trying to own my life and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me,” she added. “And it took everything in my power to not do the thing that ‘was right,’ or was perceived as right, but do the things that was right for me.”

But while the Becoming author was confident in her decision, it was not an easy one. In fact, she admitted she had to “basically trick” herself into not going.

“It started with not having anything to wear,” she explained. “Because I'm always prepared for any funeral, anything—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.”

Michelle—who shares daughters Malia Obama, 26, and Sasha Obama, 23, with the 44th President of the U.S.——also spoke further about the kind of self-evaluation she’s embarked on since leaving the White House, and why prioritizing herself has become so important.

“I'm at this stage in life where I have to define my life on my terms for the first time,” she said. “Like what happened that eight years that we were in the White House? What did that do to me internally, my soul?”

She continued, “We made it through. We got out alive. I hope we made the country proud. My girls, thank God, are whole. But what happened to me?”

Michelle explained that in going to therapy to work through some of these questions, she’s also begun to unlearn some of the messages she’s been saying to herself.

“Going through therapy is getting me to look at the fact that maybe, finally, I'm good enough,” she continued. “Then trying to actively practice something different to rewire those neurons in my head that make me keep pushing and keep striving. And practicing ‘no’ in a very different way intentionally.”

For a closer look at who was at Trump’s inauguration in January, keep reading.