On Friday, Barack Obama was photograph signing new legislation, but… he was not wearing his wedding band. In fact, he was not wearing his wedding ring throughout the entire weekend. Noticeably missing, the missing band set forth a flood of speculation.

First lady Michelle Obama has spent much of her summer away from the White House. In June, it was a trip to Europe with her daughters. Last Week she was in Palm Springs. There was even an excursion at Rancho Mirage… without her husband.

On his part, Obama has also made numberous appearances without Michelle.

The only ring that appeared on his birthday was a sweet tweet that Michelle Obama sent him to ring in his special day… It rang of nostalgia and love. She tweeted a photo captioned: “Happy Birthday to a loving husband, wonderful father and my favorite dance partner. 54 looks good on you, @POTUS! -mo.”

Former president Bill Clinton’s message however wasn’t too promising, and poked fun at the First Lady’s healthy eating campaign – “Happy Birthday, @POTUS! Hopefully when @FLOTUS isn’t looking you can have come cake. #44turns54”

This is not the first time that Obama’s wedding ring has caused a social media storm. In October 2012 it drew attention with claims that the ring that he has been wearing since his college days – that also doubles as a wedding ring – is adorned with an Arabic inscription that states: “There is no god except Allah”.

He reportedly had obtained the ring from Indonesia where he lived for a few years during his childhood. Experts with a fluency in Arabic however rejected this notion, stating that the patter in the ring is an abstract one with no discernible meaning in Arabic.