Donald and Melania's Trump's relationship began in New York, where the businessman met
the Slovenian model in a nightclub. Although Donald is known for his gregarious nature
and Melania is considered shy, the pair shared an undeniable chemistry from the start. This
is the truth about their marriage.
Donald first laid eyes on Melania Trump in 1998 at the Kit Kat Club in New York City,
after being introduced by an Italian businessman. Melania revealed on Larry King Live:
"It was [...] great chemistry and energy.” “Something was there right away."
But in an interview with The New York Post, Melania's friend Edit Molnar said that Donald
was there with another woman, so Melania didn't entertain his advances.
But The Donald was smitten. The President-to-be told Tatler:
"I'd seen her before, on the runways and things, but her beauty utterly amazed me."
Even though his playboy friends told him not to waste his time because they'd already tried
to court her, he persisted and asked for Melania's number. Melania recalled:
"But I didn't give it to him, because I knew who he was [...] He had all these ladies,
so I [wanted] to see what kind of number he [would] give to me."
Although she was skeptical, Donald didn't give her his business line, but his personal
digits. She called him a few days later and the rest is history.
Melania and Donald Trump tied the knot in a $42 million-dollar ballroom at their Mar-a-Lago
estate, which Donald had built from scratch. The compound is replete with 24-karat gold
moldings, custom-made crystal chandeliers, and marble floors covering 11,000 square feet.
Their guest list included Bill and Hillary Clinton, Billy Joel (who also performed),
Anna Wintour, Heidi Klum, Derek Jeter, and Shaquille O'Neal.
Melania, who was 34 at the time, wore a Christian Dior gown with a 13-foot train which reportedly
cost $200,000. In fact, she graced the cover of Vogue wearing what the magazine called
"the dress of the year." Melania's engagement ring, from Graff Jewelers, cost $75,000 according
to The New York Times.
At the time, Donald was 58, and completely confident in his third union. As he told People:
"If I didn't have a great woman, I would be much more nervous."
When Larry King asked Melania if she was apprehensive on Larry King Live, she said:
"We know what kind of relationship we have and I don't think I should be scared of anything.”
To say that Donald and Melania Trump give each other space is quite the understatement.
In fact, in the book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, author Michael Wolff
revealed that Melania and Donald Trump don't share a bed. He also explained that Donald
has a habit of locking his wife out at night so he can indulge in cheeseburgers while watching
television.
Former housekeepers for the couple confirmed that the couple slumbers separately to journalist
Mary Jordan for her book, The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump. One former
employee was quoted as saying:
"I never saw them like a normal family, sitting together at a table, eating together, talking.
They spend time in the same place but they don't interact."
However, these arrangements don't necessarily mean they are estranged. In an interview with
Inside Edition, Jordan said:
"By all accounts they do have a connection, they do have a relationship."
After he married Melania Trump, Donald Trump said he planned on having children with his
new bride on an episode of Larry King Live, saying:
"I'm not going to be doing the diapers [...] She will be an unbelievable mother. I'll be a
good father, but I'll be doing my deals."
Subsequently, the couple welcomed their only child, Barron Trump, in 2006. Once he was
born, Donald changed his mind about the fatherly duties, telling People:
"I love to feed the baby. Not because I have to, but just because I love it."
Growing up in the penthouse of Trump Tower in New York City, Barron Trump enjoyed a lavish
lifestyle; he had not only a nursery, but also a kitchen, living room, and nanny's quarters.
Even as America’s first couple, Donald and Melania make sure their son is protected from
the media's scrutiny. Once Donald was sworn into office, Barron had a motorcade accompany
him to school in Manhattan. To help him to complete his school year, Melania stayed in
New York with Barron for six months, and they moved to the White House over the summer,
according to People.
On an episode of Larry King Live, Melania Trump said that to marry a man like Donald
Trump:
"You need to know who you are and you need to be very strong and smart."
Only time will tell if Melania will use that strength to leave the marriage if she chooses
to. A former White House aide to the president, Omarosa Newman, revealed in her book Unhinged:
An Insider's Account of the Trump White House, that the end could be near for the couple.
She wrote:
"In my opinion, Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can
divorce him.”
In an interview with Howard Stern, Donald Trump spoke on the importance of having Melania
sign a prenuptial agreement, saying:
"I've written too many books about prenups not to have one."
Indeed their financial deal is no secret, and Melania once told Tatler:
"Yes, I did sign a prenup. It was very generous. It was good!"
For Donald Trump, third time's the charm when it comes to marriage. The ladies' man was
married twice before he made it official with Melania Trump. With Donald Trump's first wife,
Ivana Trump, with whom he was married from 1977 to 1992, he shares three children: Donald
Jr., Eric, and Ivanka.
While Donald was still married to Ivana, he had a public affair with actress Marla Maples.
Their relationship made headlines when The New York Post released a cover with the alleged
Maples quote describing Donald’s prowess in bed. Donald ultimately married Maples in
1993 and had his fourth child, Tiffany Trump, with her two months later. By 1997, they were
divorced.
Donald Trump has a reputation for being a lothario, and during his presidential run,
many women came forward with allegations that he acted inappropriately towards them, according
to ABC News. Standing by her man, Melania Trump adamantly defended him as he faced these
scandals. In the first interview she did after nine women came forward saying he groped them,
she told CNN:
"I believe my husband. This was all organized from the opposition."
Another bombshell accusation came when the press revealed that adult film star Stormy
Daniels was paid hush money by Donald's lawyer to keep a 2006 tryst with the president a
secret, according to CNBC. Daniels told CBS that she confronted Donald about the fact
that he was married, saying:
"And he brushed it aside, said, ‘Oh yeah, yeah, you know, don't worry about that. We
don't even — we have separate rooms and stuff.’"
There have been multiple instances where Donald Trump reaches for his wife's hand in public,
only to be swatted away by Melania Trump. In these swats seen literally around the world,
many are left wondering if their marriage is in crisis. To better illustrate the lack
of PDA, The Lincoln Project posted a Twitter compilation of all the times Donald was denied
his wife's hand.
Besides the lack of hand holding, the video also includes an awkward Melania Trump moment
that was captured by millions. In the clip, which was filmed on Donald's inauguration
day, Melania is seen smiling at her husband — but when he turns his back, her face distorts
into an obvious frown. This moment generated quite a buzz in the media, with many people
taking Melania's action to mean that she's in an unhappy marriage.
It was during Donald Trump's inauguration that the media began commentating on Melania
Trump's possible misery. After the frown seen around the world, Melania had a very uncomfortable-looking
first dance with her husband to the song "My Way." During the dance, Donald and Melania
avoided eye contact.
Soon after those televised events, the hashtags #FreeMelania and #SadMelania began trending
on Twitter. And the very next day, protesters held signs at the Women's March that had "Free
Melania" scrawled on them, according to Vanity Fair.
In 2019, CNN's Kate Bennett even released a book titled Free, Melania: The Unauthorized
Biography, in which she paints a portrait of a jaded First Lady. In the tell-all, she
claims that after the Stormy Daniels scandal, Melania intentionally traveled separately
to the State of the Union address, refused to go with Donald on an overseas trip, and
declined to hold his hand after a flight.
During her husband's presidency, Melania Trump has tried to stay out of most political conversations,
though she's assured America that she's very well-informed and active behind closed doors,
telling Harper’s Bazaar:
"I'm very political in private life, and between me and my husband I know everything that is
going on."
Additionally, Donald Trump takes his wife's advice to heart. In an interview with Barbara
Walters on ABC News, he confessed:
"She said 'you could tone it down a little bit on occasion,' which I understand."
Melania has also admitted that the president is unencumbered by social niceties, saying
in her speech at the Republican National Convention:
"He is not politically correct, and he tells the truth. [...] As you have learned over
the past five years, he is not a traditional politician."
In fact, Melania predicted her husband’s presidential win years before he ran. As far
back as 1999, Melania said he would undoubtedly be president one day, according to The Washington
Times. Turns out, she was right.
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