did you know that melania trump is the
only first lady to have been born in a
communist country let's take a look back
to see melania's rapid transformation
from globetrotting model to first lady
of the united states
melania canaus was born on april 26 1970
in slovenia which was located in the
former communist country of yugoslavia
at the time as was typical for families
growing up in communist societies her
parents both worked for state-owned
companies her mom worked at a textile
factory and was a budding fashion
designer while her father managed car
dealerships as per bloomberg speaking
with gq melania opened up about her
childhood and upbringing telling the
outlet i love my childhood it was a
beautiful childhood it has been said
that melania was drawn to her future
husband due to similarities between the
former the apprentice judge and her
father she does not deny the comparisons
melania told gq they grew up in totally
different environments but they have the
same values they have the same tradition
she went on to explain that she herself
is comparable to her husband as they
share traditional values
with her cherubic appearance melania
began modeling as a child her mom to
whom she bears a striking resemblance
had an eye for fashion and it was her
collection of fashion magazines that
inspired melania to pursue a modeling
career as per the new yorker at the age
of 16 she caught the attention of
photographers dani yerko yerko told
today it was january 1987 when i went
home just before the end of the fashion
show on the stairs of the festival hall
i saw a girl that immediately caught my
eye there stood a tall slender and
attractive long-haired girl with
distinct eyes this propelled her toward
modeling success as an adult where she
posed for numerous reputable fashion
brands when gq asked melania whether she
had undergone cosmetic procedures to
enhance her chances at making it as a
model she replied staunchly in the
negative explaining that she has merely
been blessed with the good genes of her
mother melania told the outlet a lot of
people say i am using all the procedures
for my face i didn't do anything i live
a healthy life i take care of my skin
and my body i'm against botox i'm
against injections i think it's damaging
your face damaging your nerves it's all
me
the erstwhile melania canals had been
modeling when donald trump was drawn to
her alluring looks however she never
reached the supermodel status of say
icons such as naomi campbell or claudia
schiffer and by the late 90s a woman in
her mid-20s was inexplicably considered
too old for the catwalk trump and the
former miss canaus met through paulo
zampoli the founder of id models during
a fashion week party per harper's bazaar
in typical donald trump's style he
attended the event with another woman
but set his eyes on the slovenian beauty
what's more he was actually still
married to a second wife marla maples
though they had separated a year earlier
per the new york times melania told
harper's bazaar he wanted my number but
he was with a date so of course i didn't
give it to him i said i am not giving
you my number you give me yours and i
will call you i wanted to see what kind
of number he would give me if it was a
business number i'm not doing business
with you however as she soon discovered
trump had an entirely different business
model on his mind
by 1999 melania had been on her first
date with donald trump to an a-list
nightclub and they began a relationship
melania chatted to abc news about her
relationship with her future husband but
she was rather reluctant to discuss
whether she would marry the billionaire
real estate air appearing somewhat
uncertain as to their future when asked
whether she would sign a prenuptial
agreement she smiled and replied you
know everybody
has different opinions
so
let's see what's happened
in an eerie moment of foreshadowing
melania was also asked about potentially
becoming the first lady i would be very
traditional
like jackie kennedy
the question was in reference to the
fact that donald had been twing with the
idea of a presidential run at the time
the couple was also interviewed by dan
rather in 1999 regarding trump's
presidential bid when the host quizzed
melania on her relationship with the
donald asking what's the worst thing
about him melania replied
i don't have the worst thing he's doing
a good job well
new millennium new melania the model
decided to celebrate the end of y2k with
a new home only a few individuals are
fortunate enough to be granted a
so-called einstein visa but in 2001
trump was awarded one to work in the u.s
questions remain as to how a model was
bestowed something usually reserved for
those with extraordinary talents
immigration lawyer david leopold asked
the washington post what did she submit
there are a lot of questions about how
she procured entry into the united
states however trump may have acquired
the einstein visa there is no doubt that
she loves her newfound home speaking
with tatler she argued that she is proof
that the american dream really exists
she suggested that her key life events
were all leading up to her role as first
lady melania told the outlet every step
in my life had a different turning point
growing up in slovenia living in both
milan and paris at a young age then
moving to the united states and living
in new york city in my 20s all of that
has led to my serving our great nation
as first lady when it comes to fate she
was dealt the trump card
by 2002 melania trump was appearing at
ritzy galas with her billionaire
boyfriend these swinky events provided
the perfect vehicle for trump to
showcase her sartorial passions with an
increasing public profile came a swag to
the formerly reserved model who now
pouted at the camera as she posed with
john melania told harper's bazaar of
course i always loved fashion and i was
always the tallest one and the skinniest
ones so that helped melania has indeed
always been fashion forward and quick to
embrace the latest trends lingerie as
evening wear was all the rage in the
early 2000s so she can be seen wearing
slinky silk dresses that showcased her
statuesque figure during public
appearances in 2002 speaking with people
she further discussed her interest in
couture telling the mag that she
inherited her passion for fashion from
her mom i always loved fashion my mother
was a fashion designer so it was always
in my blood also in 2002 trump took part
in an important post-9 11 photo shoot
for new york magazine in which she posed
with an actual new york firefighter
daniel t keane keen said of the surreal
experience the person who was doing my
hair and makeup they said do you know
who that is i don't know any models i
really wasn't into the scene and they
said that's melania canaus that's donald
trump's girlfriend and i said oh okay
2005 was the year of the lady and the
trump after dawn finally popped the
question he made melania his third wife
in true trumpian style the couple held a
lavish wedding and you better believe it
was a tremendous terrific ceremony
according to vogue who featured the new
bride on the cover of their february
2005 issue the lucky lady were a
resplendent christian dior gown
embroidered with 1 500 crystal
rhinestones and pearls the wedding
itself reportedly cost 1 million dollars
though there are rumors that the true
figure could far exceed that amount
meanwhile melania's diamond engagement
ring cost 1.5 million dollars according
to the new york times however the
publication notes that the apprentice
judge only paid half that amount despite
his flourishing bank balance trump
explained only a fool would say no thank
you i want to pay a million dollars more
for a diamond the star-studded guest
list even included donald trump's future
arch-nemesis hillary clinton per the
hollywood reporter few photos from the
wedding day are public but at the time
melania trump exhibited a healthy
gloaming tan and had dyed her hair a
light honey brown which she frequently
wore in beach waves as reflective of the
odds despite marrying a billionaire
trump says her life is pretty normal
melania told parenting my life is very
normal for me maybe for some people they
would not think that but for me it is
prior to marrying melania trump the
donald already had a large brood but he
was set on adding another don jr to his
name in 2006 melania gave birth to her
first child baron donald trump told
people melania loves taking care of the
baby if we have more it will be terrific
however baron remains the only child of
the couple like many of the trump kids
baron shares an incredible likeness to
his father melania gush to the palm
beach daily news he reminds me of donald
and a little bit of my dad the baby
looks like donald he has my eyes and
beautiful brown hair he has long fingers
and long legs the new mom spoke of her
joy at becoming a parent for the first
time telling the newspaper you can watch
the baby every move he makes it's just
amazing a great great experience i was
very lucky i had a beautiful pregnancy
everyone is healthy and happy melania
trump shares a close bond with baron who
appeared to be a little budding savant
as trump explained to people she
frequently communicates with her son in
slovenian melania said in 2009 he talks
three languages he speaks my language
slovenian english and french
in 2010 melania trump appeared at
various fashion events showcasing her
timeless and ever-evolving style notably
she appeared in a subtle black ensemble
at new york fashion week while her
husband wore his signature oversized red
tie to mark the new decade trump
launched a line of jewelry for qvc which
admittedly doesn't sound like a platform
befitting the wife of a billionaire when
donald trump became president the
official white house website even
mentioned melania's jewelry line in its
biography of the first lady the bio
stated melania is also a successful
entrepreneur in april 2010 melania trump
launched her own jewelry collection as
the washington post notes it's highly
unusual for the white house site to
mention the entrepreneurial pursuits of
the first lady so we suspect that don
may have had a hand in promoting his
wife bigly however qvc clarified that
while they did previously sell melania's
jewelry qvc does not have an active
relationship with the brand no one wants
to be shaded by qvc but the television
shopping network's loss is melania's
gain as her brand continues to bring in
a modest profit according to express
melania's businesses made between
fifteen thousand and fifty thousand
dollars in 2016. clearly there is
someone somewhere out there living their
best life in melania's qvc jewels
many left when donald trump announced
that he was running for the presidency
in 2015 yet in 2016 he was declared the
reigning republican nominee in the
presidential election beating the likes
of arch rival ted cruz
you probably are worse than jeb bush
by this point there was an increasingly
conservative shift in melania's
appearance during campaign rallies she
sported elegant neutral-toned attire and
subtle waves complete with soft blonde
highlights
this would prove to be a difficult year
for mrs trump not least because of the
sexual misconduct allegations levied
against her husband in a damning turn of
events donald trump was caught on tape
making excruciatingly crude remarks
about the supposed power he wields over
women you know i'm automatically
attracted to beautiful i just start
kissing them it's like a magnet just
kidding
i don't either way and when you're a
star they let you do it you can do
anything
following through on her 1999 promise to
support her husband no matter what if he
were to run for office melania trump
fully stood by her man in the wake of
the revelations speaking of the incident
melania told cnn the boys the way they
talk when they grow up and they want to
sometimes show each other oh this and
that and talking about the girls but yes
i was surprised of course melania is
nothing if not loyal but dismissing
trump's comments as mere boy talk is
arguably to the detriment of allyship to
fellow women
against all odds donald trump beat
hillary clinton to become president of
the united states when dawn was
inaugurated in 2017 melania adhered to
her 1999 promise to be like jackie o
channeling the erstwhile mrs kennedy
with a ralph lauren duck egg blue suit
and classy updo for the first ever first
lady for whom english is a second
language harper's bazaar argued that the
choice of attire was reflective of
melania's commitment to representing and
serving a nation that is not natively
hers despite melania being first lady
there was another woman constantly by
the donald side this was of course his
daughter ivanka who was seemingly
present at every major presidential
event despite not being melania's
daughter and regardless of the fact that
she was approaching 40 at the time well
once a daddy's girl always a daddy's
girl but melania was reportedly unhappy
with being overshadowed by ivanka in her
book melania and me the first lady's pal
stephanie winston wolcoff claims that
there was a heated rivalry between
melania and ivanka in an excerpt
published by new york magazine wolkoff
writes it was donald's inauguration not
ivanka's but no one was brave enough to
tell her that melania was not thrilled
about ivanka steering the schedule and
would not allow it neither was she happy
to hear that ivanka insisted on walking
in the pennsylvania avenue parade with
her children according to wolkov this
led melania to launch operation block
ivanka
in a divergence from her usually refined
wardrobe melania trump wore a
controversial piece of clothing in 2018.
she was photographed donning a green
army jacket that read i really don't
care do you on the back many felt this
was in poor taste due to the fact that
migrant children were concurrently being
separated from their parents the
guardian argued that the jacket
decimated the image of melania as a
helpless victim of a powerful man and
that the brutal message revealed her
true politics writing there was no
hidden message the message was literally
spelled out in large letters this was
the moment when the world realized that
melania was not secretly signaling to be
saved but really was donald's partner
and ally however trump was adamant that
her jacket was not a reference to
incarcerated children rather she told
abc news i wore the jacket for the
left-wing media who were criticizing me
and i want to show them that i don't
care this was also the year she launched
be best an anti-bullying initiative
melania said at a white house ceremony
bee best has played a major role in
spreading awareness highlighting
successful programs and acts of kindness
some have argued that the initiative was
hypocritical considering that many of
trump's policies may be seen as
antithetical to the well-being of
children
during the 2020 presidential election
melania trump wore eye-catching
ensembles including a vibrant gucci
dress as she went to cast her ballot in
a campaign filled with invective
launched against don's competitor joe
biden melania did her best to remain
stoic and graceful but she couldn't
quite escape the controversy of green
jacket gate and 2020 would prove to be
an even more contentious year for the
usually reserved model turned flotus
that year a series of tapes were sent to
cnn they were secretly recorded by
stephanie winston wolkov two years
earlier and melania can be heard
expressing some questionable views most
damning of all she condones the
incarceration of migrant children and
detention centers claiming that the
conditions in which the kids are forced
to sleep are of decent quality melania
said on the tapes the kids they say wow
i will have my own bed i will sleep on
the bed i will have a cabinet for my
clothes it's so sad to hear it but they
didn't have that in their own countries
they sleep on the floor they are taken
care of nicely there additionally she
appears to espouse right-wing conspiracy
theories that migrant children seeking a
better life are coached by their parents
to lie about their reasons for escaping
their home countries
when joe biden was declared president
melania trump's time as first lady
subsequently came to an end but 2021 was
not without controversy for melania
following the riot on capitol hill she
shared her thoughts via the white house
website and didn't appear to condemn the
attacks melania said i find it shameful
that surrounding these tragic events
there has been salacious gossip
unwarranted personal attacks and false
misleading accusations on me for people
who were looking to be relevant and have
an agenda this time is solely about
healing our country moreover it seems
that all is not well in the trump abode
either during an appearance with dawn at
the world series melania was seen
seemingly scowling at her husband while
dressed in a chic tan trench coat this
wasn't the first time she withdrew
affection from her spouse she had
previously rejected his attempts to hold
her hand on a number of occasions as
chronicled by indy 100. additionally
when donald celebrated his 75th birthday
his wife was noticeably absent from his
celebration photos leading to
speculation that she hadn't attended the
bash as per people this has led to
rumors that melania may be considering a
divorce from the billionaire ex potus
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