Of all the affair rumors Barack Obama just can’t escape, the one involving him with Jennifer Aniston has been the strangest — and by far the hardest to quash. How this bizarre theory even started is just as puzzling as the rumor itself. It all began when The Economist published a humorous article in 2014 in which it imagined Obama having an affair with the “Friends” star behind the back of his wife, Michelle Obama. Citing a fabricated story from People magazine, the article described 44 sneaking into Aniston’s apartment and leaving the next morning on his scooter, his face covered by a helmet visor to avoid being recognized. It was a hypothetical scenario that made for a funny joke until podcast hosts Lindsey Weber and Bobby Finger revived the story on their popular gossip show, “Who? Weekly,” ten years later.

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“The goss is … Michelle and Barack are living separate lives, and Barack is f***ing Jennifer Aniston,” Weber said on the show (via The Cut). InTouch Weekly caught wind of Weber’s claim and gave it a spotlight in their August 2024 print edition titled “Barack & Jen: What’s Really Going On?” However, a source close to Aniston said this couldn’t be further from the truth: “[Aniston] was always closer to Michelle, recently she’s gotten close to Barack. But they are not having an affair,” the insider insisted, as reported by The New York Post. The rumors reached a fever pitch as speculation about trouble in Barack and Michelle’s marriage started to swirl. But what do Aniston and Barack have to say about it all? 

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While Barack Obama hasn’t spoken a word about those bizarre rumors linking him to Jennifer Aniston, the Hollywood A-lister has responded to the speculation during a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” interview to promote “The Morning Show,” and it wasn’t what we expected. Addressing the many rumors about her, Aniston simply laughed off the chatter: “Oh!” she exclaimed after Kimmel showed her a copy of InTouch Weekly’s print edition, with her and Barack on the cover. “That’s kind of…” she trailed off. The Emmy-winning star continued, “Of all the calls you’d get from your publicist, where you’re just like, ‘Oh no, what’s it going to be?’ or the email saying, you know, some cheesy tabloid is going to make up a story, and then it’s that. I was not mad at it.” 

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When asked if there was any truth to the rumors, Aniston denied having romantic ties with Barack, saying she’s much closer to Michelle Obama than the former president himself. “I’ve [only] met him once,” claimed Aniston. “I know Michelle more than him.” 

Yet the rumors persisted. In January 2025, a supposed leaked DM from one of Aniston’s closest friends seemed to reignite the speculation. “He’s with Jennifer Aniston,” the source said of Barack. “My old manager, now a friend, is connected to her inner circle,” the source added. “Jennifer herself admitted it. … It’s definitely not a secret among her closest friends.” Despite the chatter, Barack proved his loyalty to Michelle by taking to X to honor his wife on Valentine’s Day. Sharing a photo of them together, Barack enthused, “Thirty-two years together and you still take my breath away. Happy Valentine’s Day @MichelleObama!”

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