Former President Barack Obama was cheered by diners when he arrived at a hip Washington, DC, restaurant without his wife, Michelle, this week — as wild, unfounded rumors swirled about a possible romance with actress Jennifer Aniston.
Patrons at the Beltway hotspot, Osteria Mozza, burst into applause and shouted “Whoo!” as the 63-year-old ex-commander-in-chief strolled into the eatery solo Saturday night ahead of President Trump’s inauguration, new video shows.
“We miss you!” one woman can be heard hollering.
Obama is seen climbing a staircase in the footage, then waving at fans seated at tables in the second level of the upscale Italian joint, which serves “California-style” pasta dishes and dry-aged Bistecca Alla Fiorentina for $175.
His splashy entrance came as long-simmering rumors about the 55-year-old “Friends” star’s relationship with Obama resurfaced this week.
The speculative chatter popped up when the former first lady didn’t attend Trump’s inauguration with Obama Monday on the heels of skipping former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral earlier this month.
Michelle Obama reportedly refused to attend the inauguration because she couldn’t hide her disdain for Trump and didn’t want to “fake” being civil with him, Page Six reported.
Rumors about the supposed affair began in August when In Touch Magazine splashed the headline “The Truth About Jen & Barack” across its cover — then went on to report they’d actually just been friends for years.
“[Aniston] was always closer to Michelle, recently she’s gotten close to Barack. But they are not having an affair,” a Hollywood source 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,” the source said.
Speculation reached a fever pitch 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 zero evidence — that the Obamas were “living separate lives” while the former leader of the free world had an affair with Aniston.
Obama, meanwhile, posted a birthday tribute to his wife on Instagram on Jan. 17. “Happy birthday to the love of my life,” the former president captioned a photo of the couple holding hands over a meal. “Love you, honey!” the former first lady responded.
Aniston addressed the affair speculation on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in October, declaring with a grin that she wasn’t “mad at” being linked romantically to Obama, but that the rumor was “absolutely untrue.”
“Of all the calls you get from your publicist where you’re like, ‘Oh no, what’s it gonna be?’ Or the emails saying some cheesy tabloid’s going to make up a story and then it’s that,” she said.
“I was not mad at it,” she said — playfully implying that she carries a torch for the former president.
“I’ve met [Obama] once. I know Michelle more than him,” Aniston added.
