Diners cheered when former President Barack Obama arrived at a trendy Washington, DC restaurant this week without his wife, Michelle, amid wild, unfounded rumors of a romance with actress Jennifer Aniston.
Patrons at Osteria Mozza, a Beltway hotspot, erupted in applause and shouted “Whoo!” as the 63-year-old ex-commander-in-chief walked into the restaurant alone Saturday night ahead of President Trump’s inauguration, according to new video.
“We miss you!” A woman can be heard hollering.
The footage shows Obama climbing a staircase and waving at fans seated at tables on the second level of the upscale Italian restaurant, which serves “California-style” pasta dishes and dry-aged Bistecca Alla Fiorentina for $175.
His dramatic entrance came as long-running rumors about the 55-year-old “Friends” star’s relationship with Obama resurfaced this week.
The speculation began after the former first lady did not accompany Obama to Trump’s inauguration on Monday, following her absence from former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier this month.
According to Page Six, Michelle Obama refused to attend Trump’s inauguration because she couldn’t hide her disdain for him and didn’t want to “fake” civility.
Rumors about the supposed affair began in August, when In Touch Magazine splashed the headline “The Truth About Jen & Barack” across its cover, only to reveal they’d been friends for years.
“[Aniston] was always closer to Michelle, but she’s recently grown close to Barack. But they’re not having an affair,” a Hollywood insider told the magazine.
“With the election coming up in November, Jen has gotten very political, so she’s found herself in Barack’s world a lot lately,” a source told me.
Speculation peaked this week when political commentator Megyn Kelly addressed the rumor on “The Megyn Kelly Show,” saying that if true, “It would be a political earthquake.”
The popular pop culture podcast “Who? Weekly” also claimed, with no evidence, that the Obamas were “living separate lives” while the former president of the free world had an affair with Aniston.
On Jan. 17, Obama posted a birthday tribute to his wife on Instagram. “Happy birthday to the love of my life,” the former president wrote alongside a photo of the couple holding hands over a meal. “Love you, honey!” exclaimed the former first lady.
Aniston addressed the affair speculation on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in October, declaring with a grin that while she wasn’t “mad at” being romantically linked to Obama, the rumor was “absolutely untrue.”
“Of all the calls you get from your publicist, and you’re like, ‘Oh no, what’s it going to be?’ Or the emails saying some cheesy tabloid is going to make up a story and then that’s it,” she explained.
“I was not mad at it,” she said, implying that she carries a torch for the former president.
“I’ve met Obama once. “I know Michelle better than him,” Aniston added.
