Michelle Obama Opens Up About Seeing 'Red Flags' Before Her Brother Craig Robinson's Divorce

Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, are remembering the turbulent time when the former first lady learned his marriage was unraveling.

In the first episode of the duo's new podcast, titled IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, Obama discussed the warning signs she overlooked when Robinson's marriage to ex-wife Janis Robinson was "breaking down" in 2000.

Robinson, 62, didn't tell his younger sister about his first divorce as it was happening, he revealed — nor his mother nor anyone else close to him. Obama, 61, said she didn't fully process that they were going through challenges because he played it down.

Related: Michelle Obama Launches New Weekly Podcast with Her Brother Craig Robinson to ‘Provide Hope’

Robinson noted on the episode that he was doing his best to "hold off on telling everybody" for a specific reason.

"I know my sister and I said if I tell her about this she's never going to get over it," Robinson said. "And if we ever got back together, it wasn't going to be good for my first wife."

Obama and Robinson have always had a close bond, so she noticed quickly that "something was going on."

When Obama found out her brother had kept such a major life event from her, she was really angry with him, Robinson said. He then promised to not keep anything from her in the future.

"I thought I saw some things that were red flags, but I would always be like, 'How you doing?' and your reply would be, 'We're great, we're good,' " Obama recalled.

She continued, "Even though you think I wouldn't have been able to handle it, I would have gotten myself together to give you sound advice and be able to stay neutral. But I felt like the dude I depended on the most, who I could tell anything, didn't feel like he could come to me when he was dealing with something really hard in his life, which is his marriage falling apart."

"That was a mistake," Robinson admitted.

Robinson, now the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, got remarried to Kelly McCrum in 2006, but has otherwise kept much of his personal life out of the public eye.

Related: Michelle Obama Is 'Not One to Pretend for Protocol's Sake,' Source Says About Her Skipping Trump's Inauguration (Exclusive)

Robinson and Obama announced their podcast on March 10, and intend to feature a range of famous guests and friends on the show.

In a broadly tumultuous period of time, the brother-sister duo said they hope the podcast helps others navigate changing dynamics in family, faith and relationships to "provide hope."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.

“My brother Craig and I launched the IMO podcast to create a space for people to come as they are, ask honest questions, give their opinions, and have thoughtful conversations about life," Obama said in the announcement.

Read the original article on People