Donald and Melania Trump have had quite the marriage. They met in New York in the 90s, and after a few hiccups, they finally settled down and married. It was Melania’s first marriage, but for Donald, it was different. The real estate mogul had already been married twice at that point. However, the marriage with Melania seemed to be steady, as a rock, even though the former and future First Lady had taken steps towards securing a possible future without Donald.
Melania Trump has given different versions of their first meeting, and once, she even said she was “turned off” by who, at that time was her future husband. Not much is known today about the Trumps’ marriage, but as late as Election Day, one body language expert claimed that Melania isn’t emotionally attached to her husband.
So, how did Donald Trump and Melania Trump meet? Let’s look closer at their marriage – and the reason for their secret split.
In the 1990s, Melania Trump left her home country of Slovenia to try to make it in America. The talented model moved to New York City, where she got some huge deals.
In the background, businessman Paulo Zampolli was an important person. He had helped Melania secure a working visa to the US and introduced her to essential people in the business. At the same time, he had plenty of wealthy friends in New York, including one real estate mogul, Donald Trump.
During New York Fashion Week in 1998, Zampolli invited Donald Trump to an event at the Kit Kat Club. Melania was also present. At the time, Donald had just divorced his second wife, Marla Maples, and went to the event with a date. But The Apprentice star didn’t really care for his plus one.
How did Donald Trump and Melania Trump meet?
Instead, he was introduced to Melania Trump and was very interested in getting to know her.
“I went crazy. I was actually supposed to meet somebody else. There was this great supermodel sitting next to Melania,” Donald Trump told Larry King in 2005. “They said, ‘Look, there’s so and so.’ I said, ‘Forget about her. Who is the one on the left? And it was Melania.”
Although Melania and Donald might have hit it off, the aspiring model was initially turned off by Trump speaking to her and asking her for her phone number. Speaking with the New York Post in 2005, Melania’s friend at the time, Edit Molnar, recalled how Melania didn’t want to give Trump her number.
“Melania said, ‘He’s here with a woman. I am absolutely not giving him my number,’” Molnar recalled. “She wouldn’t even consider it. Donald did all the work.”
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Melania Trump further recalled the day she met Donald. She revealed that Trump didn’t give him one number – but all of them.
“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, what is this? I’m not doing business with you.”
“There was an undeniable spark”
She continued that she got the phone number to “the office, Mar-a-Lago, home in New York, everything.”
Melania Trump’s story about how she felt about her first meeting with Donald Trump has differed, as she previously told a different story about being turned off by him.
In a clip shared on her social media channels promoting her memoir, Melania, released earlier this year, the 54-year-old said she and Donald Trump had an instant connection.
“From the moment Donald and I met, there was an undeniable spark. There was something magnetic about him: his confidence, his charm, his humor, his vision,” Melania said. “Our wedding was a beautiful affair — a breathtaking gown, a perfectly created menu by a celebrated chef, and captivating live performances by music legends.”
The first meeting isn’t the only thing with different stories in Donald and Melania’s early days.
In an interview with Fox News, Melania explained that she and Donald had their first date in New Jersey after she had returned from a modeling shoot in the Caribbean.
Where did Donald Trump and Melania Trump have their first date?
The couple drove together for an hour and a half to Bedford, New Jersey, where Donald Trump viewed a property he wanted to buy.
“So he was combining business with taking [me] on a first date. And it was very nice, because we were two of us alone in the car for an hour, hour and a half, and it’s no other noise, no other people, because at that time, he was already known and a celebrity,” Melania Trump told Fox.
She continued: “So it was really nice to be just two of us.”
However, the recollection of their early romance has different stories. In 2016, speaking with Harper’s Bazaar, Melania Trump said the couple went for dinner on their first date, which ended at a New York Restaurant and lounge called Moomba. At the time, the spot was packed with celebrities.
“It was a great place, wasn’t it? I remember that night like it was two months ago,” she told the Magazine.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump began dating, but things didn’t run smoothly. In 2000, the couple briefly separated, but the reasons for it have been kept quite secret. As reported by the Mirror, Donald Trump tried to get nominated as the presidential candidate for the Reform Party the same year, which was a reason for the split.
Why did Donald Trump and Melania Trump split?
However, Donald and Melania got back together when he dropped out of the race. Speaking with DuJour, Melania Trump discussed the 2000 split, confirming that Donald’s political ambitions were one reason behind it.
“That was part of it. We were apart for a few months, not long. We got back together. He was always thinking about it. But he loved what he did, he had his business. He was not saying, ‘Now is the time.’ He always had that in him.”
Many years later, in 2014, Donald Trump wanted to return to politics.
“He was more into the country, what was wrong with it. Every morning was Fox & Friends,” Melania added.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump married on January 22, 2005. The wedding took place at Bethesda-by-the-Sea church in Palm Beach, Florida, and many celebrities were in attendance; among those were Elton John, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even Trump’s then-future presidential rival Hillary Clinton and her husband and former president Bill Clinton.
The wedding was Melania’s first, but Donald Trump’s third. His first marriage with Ivana Trump – who sadly passed away in 2022 – lasted between 1977 and 1992. A year later, he married Marla Maples, but the couple divorced in 1999, a year after Trump met Melania for the first time.
Melania Trump revealed the secret to their marriage
Donald Trump’s friend and business associate, Federico Pignatelli, told Vanity Fair that Melania Trump’s marriage differs significantly from those with Ivana and Marla. Meanwhile, the former and future First Lady had her own theory of why her husband’s previous marriages didn’t last.
Writing in her tell-all book Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, Melania’s former friend and closest confidantes before her White House exit in 2018, explained that Melania knew she was different than Ivana and Marla.
“She was very well aware of what he wanted — and didn’t want — in his third wife. He wasn’t the kind of husband who cheered on his wife’s career,” Wolkoff wrote. “Melania told me the secret of her long marriage to him is that she is completely different from his other wives.”
“Unlike Marla Maples, Melania didn’t pressure him emotionally. Unlike Ivana, his first wife, who ran one of his Atlantic City casinos, Melania didn’t pressure him for things to do.”
Donald Trump and Melania Trump welcomed their first child, Barron Trump, in 2007. The future president of the United States had four children—Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Tiffany Trump—from his previous marriages. For Melania, that meant becoming a stepmother to them, and it wasn’t always easy.
“My role is not to replace their mothers”
There were many rumors about Melania and Ivanka Trump having many disagreements, and in her memoir, Melania, shared new insights into her relationships with Donald’s children.
“Stepping into a marriage with Donald, I found myself navigating the intricate dynamics of his big family,” Melania wrote. “It demanded flexibility and openness, but each moment was a chance to connect, learn, and grow in this new environment.”
“My approach to building relationships with Donald’s children has always been grounded in love and respect. I recognize their individuality, understanding that, as their stepmother, my role is not to replace their mothers but to nurture a supportive and amicable connection,’ she continued.
Although Melania didn’t always agree with her stepchildren’s opinions, she explained that it was a “natural aspect” of any relationship for her.
“While I may not agree with every opinion or choice expressed by Donald’s grown children, nor do I align with all of Donald’s decisions, I acknowledge that different viewpoints are a natural aspect of human relationships,” Melania continued.
“It is essential to remember that each person is deserving of respect and understanding, regardless of disagreements.”
Melania Trump renegotiated prenuptial agreement with her husband
Donald Trump and Melania Trump will soon move back into the White House, although there have been rumors that the First Lady won’t live there full-time.
In the last year, Donald Trump has been involved in several criminal cases, and because of that, Melania decided to plan for a future in which Donald Trump was not present.
According to Page Six, Melania Trump spent the last year renegotiating the terms of her prenuptial agreement with Donald Trump. The news outlet reports that Melania wanted the new deal because she was worried about how much money would be left for her and her son, Barron, after legal bills, damages, and possible fines were paid.
“This agreement was necessary because of the current legal battles.[Donald] has suffered,” a source told Page Six, adding that the renegotiated prenup will “provide a more solid future” for Melania and Barron if the couple would go separate ways.
“It’s not that she threatened to leave him. It’s definitely the underlying idea.”
A person familiar with the renegotiated prenup told Page Six that Melania wanted the deal to provide her with money and property. It included cash, where there is a “specific amount at minimum that Barron is supposed to obtain.”
Moreover, another source told the news outlet, “This is at least the third time Melania has renegotiated the terms of her martial agreement.”
