After her husband's indictment, Melania Trump has remained out of the public eye. As hard
as it may be to believe, she may even be at peace with her husband's tumultuous future.
In late March 2023, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan
Grand Jury over allegations related to a payment made to adult film star Stormy
Daniels. This was Donald's effort to keep their extramarital affair out of the news
during his 2016 presidential run. Donald is facing over 30 counts of business fraud,
marking the first time a former president has come up against criminal charges.
Donald has been married to Melania Trump, formerly Melania Knauss,
since 2005. He first met the Slovenian model in 1998, and the pair began dating in 1999. However,
the affair between Donald and Daniels allegedly transpired in Lake Tahoe in 2006. This was not
long after Melania gave birth to her and Donald's only child, Barron Trump.
Daniels reportedly accepted $130,000 in 2016 from Donald's lawyer, Michael Cohen. In 2018,
Daniels told CBS' 60 Minutes that she did so out of safety concerns for herself and her daughter.
Donald has denied the affair but did admit to paying the money. As this was during his
presidential campaign and he recorded the payment as legal expenses, it's seen as a
violation of campaign finance and other laws, thus bringing forth his indictment and possible arrest.
With the exception of a derisive comment by Donald Trump Jr. — who
is confident his father is innocent — Trump's family,
including Melania, have not made any public statements regarding his legal woes.
Since leaving the White House, Melania Trump has spent her time out of the
limelight. She and Donald Trump moved from Washington, D.C. to Palm Beach, Florida,
to live at Mar-a-Lago, a resort owned by the former president. In November 2022,
Donald announced that he was running for president for a third time in 2024.
"In order to make America great and glorious once again, I am,
tonight, announcing my candidacy for President of the United States."
However, Melania reportedly has no interest in being the first lady again. Instead,
she apparently wants to lead a quiet life. But her husband's legal troubles have interfered
with this plan. In August 2022, the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in search of classified documents.
Although they looked through Melania's closet,
she did not denounce the FBI's actions, with one source telling CNN,
"Why would she say anything? Her thinking is, if she's quiet, it will just go away."
Another source told People that Melania is living a comfortable life at Mar-a-Lago and
feels little need to leave the company of her loved ones to confront the public onslaught of
criticisms against her husband. Nevertheless, a source noted to People that she has been
quick to anger and uninterested in hearing about the payment Trump made to Daniels.
Even with her husband facing criminal charges, Melania and Donald Trump have been seen together
at Mar-a-Lago but reportedly live separately. The pair were spotted having dinner shortly after the
news of Donald's indictment came to light. Melania's parents also live at the property,
and the former first lady's life is centered on them and the now-17-year-old Barron Trump.
A source told People that Melania does not have
friends and prefers to spend time with her family. Despite the legal drama,
it's believed that the family celebrated Barron's 17th birthday in March 2023.
If her husband goes on trial or to prison, Melania does not seem worried about it
and will likely remain at Mar-a-Lago. A source in a different article told People,
"Melania loves the beautiful weather and resort town atmosphere of Palm
Beach. She is happy when she is in Palm Beach. She has her son and other close
family members. They are tribe-like and usually stick together. Despite what happens to Donald,
she will be fine. She is well taken care of."