Two years after the Slovenian arrived in New York, she met the tycoon at a party... But he already had a date and, in addition, was going through a divorce process.
After the end of Donald Trump's (78) first term, Melania (54), his wife, seemed exhausted. In fact, numerous international media assured that she was happy to be able to stop pretending and that she no longer felt pressured to continue at the tycoon's side. Thus, between 2021 and 2024, the Slovenian decided to move to her residence in Mar-A-Lago, in Palm Beach, and, later, accompany her son Barron, to New York, where he attends university.
There, in the Big Apple, Melania lives in a luxurious penthouse, which - according to her social networks - she has the pleasure of calling "home". However, it is possible that she will soon decide to leave him and return to the White House with her husband. Although, according to various tabloids, the new first lady of the United States has no intention of living in the famous presidential home again.
Melania - who was a huge crowd at a Republican rally last October - is trying to support her husband and that is what she is apparently doing with her autobiography, where she tells how she met the man who became the man of her life. At first, the former model seemed not to be interested (at all) in getting involved with the businessman. But, in the end, she ended up falling for his charms.
According to Melania's pages, the model arrived in New York when she was 26 years old. "I had made the decision to test my skills in the American modelling market. There were risks, yes, but I felt a sense of confidence. I knew I could succeed. So I packed everything I had in my Paris apartment, met with an agent in Milan, said goodbye to my family in Slovenia, and they wished me good luck in America," she says in an excerpt published by The Times.
Melania describes her arrival on American soil as an experience that made her "heart beat." However, the real surprise came when she was confronted, for the first time, with the luxury and ostentation in which she would soon live immersed. "My agency sent me a limousine, which exuded elegance. I felt an immediate sense of comfort and tranquility. Still, I found the vitality of Manhattan overwhelming... But I knew that this was the place where I should be," she says.
In the days that followed, Melania embarked on a mission to make herself known in the city and, in her own words, "her professionalism and punctuality won her clients," in stores like Bergdorf Goodman and magazines like Glamour. "She was always in front of the camera and when she had free time, she contacted photographers and attended meetings, because I believe that success in this industry is achieved through self-motivation," she says.
Melania also reveals that her own enthusiasm led her to achieve her goals and, soon, to move again... But, this time, to her own apartment, on Park Avenue. "I think what I achieved during my first year in the US was extraordinary," she says. However, her life changed seriously in September 1998, 24 months after her arrival, when a friend of hers invited her to her boyfriend's party, at a club called Kit Kat. And although she felt tired, she accepted the invitation.
"As soon as I arrived, I approached my friend and saw her greet someone. It was a man and an attractive blonde. 'I'm Donald Trump,' he said to me and I recognized his name. I knew he was a businessman. He extended his hand to me, I told him my name and his eyes filled with curiosity. He sat next to me, started a conversation and asked me about my life, but I didn't want to get too involved because of his beautiful company," she says.
"The music was loud and the crowd was bustling. There was a lot of activity around us, but his concentration on our conversation made me feel like the centre of his world. I was drawn to his magnetic energy... And when his date left for a moment, he asked for my phone number. I politely declined his proposal and he was a little surprised. So I said 'give me your number'. He called his bodyguard and gave me a card saying 'call me'," she explains.
In her book, Melania asserts that, although she travelled to the Caribbean the next day, "she couldn't stop thinking about Trump" because his look and confidence had caught her attention. "I think Donald appreciated my knowledge and experiences and perhaps saw me as a person with whom he could have deep conversations. So I called him, but when he didn't pick up, I left him a message. I even said 'I hope your date ended well tonight', as a joke. And that afternoon he called me," she says.
The next day, the two continued talking on the phone and soon the millionaire invited her to his house in Beford. When she arrived, he told her that he had plans to turn the property into a golf course. "And now that I think about it, it was a very business-like date, a mix of business and pleasure. He also confessed to me that he was going through a divorce with his second wife. And although he was 52 and I was 28, I felt a connection," she says.
In this way, Melania and Donald Trump began dating. At first, their romance was secret. But, after a couple of weeks, they decided to start dating in public. According to Melania, they both had a lot in common and she had no doubts about their complicity. Although others did have doubts. Even the tabloids called her a 'gold digger'. But she claims that she was never interested in his bank account. In fact, she claims that she could have generated a large fortune on her own. "As a model, I made my money and I could have gotten any celebrity I wanted," she concludes.
