Melania and Donald Trump: the crumbling love story?
Do the appearances of the presidential couple expose the lack of intimacy and commitment between the presidential couple?
Since Donald Trump began his run for the presidency of the United States, his appearances with his wife Melania have not been very lucky. The American press has spoken of the language of the first lady that shows tension and sadness as a sign that things are not going well.
Melania was born in 1970 in Novo Mesto, the former Yugoslavia, which was under the communist dictatorship of Marshal Tito. She grew up with her father, Viktor (a communist), her mother Amalija Knavs, and her sister Inés. When she was 16 she met a photographer who asked her if she was interested in modeling, and soon after she moved to Milan, Italy, where she walked the big catwalks.
She traveled to New York in 1996. There she met the great model representative Eileen Ford, with whom she obtained many contracts. Her talent allowed her to be on the cover of magazines such as Vogue, Ocean Drive, Avenue and Harper’s Baazar and GQ, as well as being portrayed by renowned photographers such as Helmut Newton.
She was 28 when, during her participation in New York Fashion Week, she met the real estate mogul, who was 52 at the time.
According to Melania in an interview, Trump approached to ask her for her number and she replied "I'm not going to give it to you, give me yours and I'll call you." The businessman who at that time already had four children and a second divorce on top, gave her all her numbers; the one at the office, the one at Mar-a-Lago and the one at her house in New York.
A few days later she called him. “I was shocked with her energy. It has an impressive vitality. He has a brilliant mind, he is a very intelligent person, "said the first lady when asked what she liked about Donald Trump.
For their first date the couple looked happy and loving. They were both the sensations at parties and their relationship seemed very entrenched. But this was changing over time. "I remember that night as if it had been only two months ago," Melania said about that first outing with Trump, which has been almost two decades.
With the support of her partner Melania also became an entrepreneur. She created her own jewelry line to put modeling aside. It only appeared occasionally on some covers.
Melania learned shortly after her relationship with the tycoon that Donald Trump was not a one-woman man. He was dating Norwegian businesswoman Celina Midelfart at the same time. There were several breakups in 1999 and in 2000. The tabloid press claimed that the former model always came out with a broken heart, while Trump said that breaking up with her was "one of the most difficult things he has ever done."
Despite everything, six years after meeting, they got married. The 2004 Fashion Week gala was once again the setting where Trump made a proposal, this time with a $ 1.5 million ring. “They gave me a discount of half. Only a fool would not have taken that opportunity, "Trump said when asked about the jewel.
The ceremony was held in 2005 at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church and the reception was held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. 400 guests attended, including personalities such as Heidi Klum, Billy Joel and Tony Bennett or members of the royalty such as Alberto de Mónco and Carlos of England, even the Clintons attended.
A year later, Barron William was born, Melania's only child and Trump's fifth child, who is also the father of Ivanka, Tiffany, Eric and Donald Jr. “I'm still young, right? I produce children, I stay young ”, celebrated the protagonist of the reality show El Aprendiz.
Since then Melania has completely devoted herself to caring for the little boy who is now ten years old. The Trump couple said they would not have a nanny for him. "If you have too much help, you don't have the opportunity to meet your children," Trump said in an interview. The boy speaks three languages, plays golf and lives surrounded by luxury. He also seemed to have a perfect life until they began to talk about the possibility of suffering from some type of autism, which has been denied by the White House and has caused several lawsuits.
The fairy tale has been transformed. Melania, although still a beautiful woman, is not seen with the joy and vitality of the past times. The mutual rudeness, the absence of Melania as first lady and the cold and uncaring gestures between the presidential couple are evident.
Everyone was shocked when it emerged that the first lady would not live in the White House so that her son Barron would not interrupt his school year. “I would like our life to remain as normal as possible for my son Barron. I'm a full-time mom and I love that, ”she explained.
Americans are used to having an active and visible first lady. Never in modern times has a first lady avoided moving into the White House after inauguration. "We certainly haven't seen a phenomenon like this, when the first lady delays her move to the White House for at least months," Katherine Jellinson, a history professor at Ohio University, told AFOP.
"Where is Melania Trump? 12 days without appearing in public," CNN wondered. "Separate lives," headlined US Weekly. And many other media labeled in a similar way.
"I am assembling a professional and experienced team that will take the time to do things right," the first lady said in the face of criticism.
Many have taken this decision as a serious rudeness by the first lady towards her husband because it does not contribute to ameliorating her husband's unpopularity. It also represents a form of "abandonment" at a time when you need her to participate in works of a social and humanitarian nature, as other First Ladies have done.
Others speculate that since Melania was accused of plagiarizing Michelle Obama's speech, the presidential family has preferred that her appearances be more discreet. They also attribute this fact to Melania's decision to appear as little as possible due to the recurring criticisms and comparisons with Michelle Omaba that she faces on a daily basis. This would also explain why in her public appearances she looks tense and nervous.
"Her body language shows that she is tense and that she seems to be looking for validation from her husband all the time," several analysts in different international media have asserted. “Her movements are robotic, she answers questions without naturalness. She looks nervous, like she's walking on eggshells. A few years ago she would look more relaxed and her gestures were softer ”, they added.
Google revealed that one of the main searches of Americans has been the question Why is Melania Trump always sad? Her gestures in momentous moments such as the possession of her husband or the first dance of the presidential couple have given much to talk about.
Melania and Trump's appearances contrast with the Obama couple's displays of love. The president does not open the door for him; when she takes him by the hand, he lets go; he doesn't smile at her, he doesn't look at her, he doesn't let her pass first.
"He is a romantic. He is a different romance from other people (...) but he is a different man in many ways. It is a great relationship, and we are both very independent, and the most important thing is that we spend quality time together.
For some feminists these gestures would mean nothing and chivalry would be seen as a sign of machismo. What happens is that there is talk of Donald Trump, who has been accused of machismo on multiple occasions. Those who know the couple have said that they were not like that at first and that is why there is already rumor of a relationship that has been unraveling over time.
