Donald Trump and Melania Trump's love story: From a chance meeting to being married for nearly 20 years

The 45th US President, Donald Trump and his wife Melania are all set to re-enter the White House as the 47th US President and First Lady after Trump's victory in the Presidential elections. It was in 1998 when Donald Trump and Melania Trump (then Knauss) had a chance meeting for the first time, and as fate would have it, they later got married to be together for nearly two decades now. Here's a look at their love story and relationship timeline:



When Donald Trump first met Melania
Back in 1998, Donald Trump was separated from his second wife Marla Maples, with whom he has a daughter. Meanwhile, Melania Knauss (her maiden name) was a Slovenian-born model. It was at a New York Fashion Week party the same year which was hosted by former modelling agent, Paolo Zampolli, where Donald Trump first met Melania. However, the duo didn't hit it off instantly as Trump was at the party with a date. And when he asked Melania for her number, being a bit hesitant, she asked him for his number instead. Recalling their first meeting, Melania told Harper’s Bazaar in a 2016 interview, “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.’” She added that he had given all his numbers to her, which included “the office, Mar-a-Lago, home in New York, everything.”


"Struck by his energy,” as Melania said in the interview, she contacted Trump after a few days and the duo soon started dating. A year later, Trump was finally divorced from his second wife Marla Maples. Incidentally, Donald Trump had first met his second wife Marla Maples when he was still married to his first wife, Ivana Trump, with whom he has three children!

Donald and Melania's break-up
It was in 2000, when Donald Trump tried his hands at Presidential politics for the first time by attempting to secure the nomination for the Reform Party. Earlier in the same year, Trump had shared in an interview that he and Melania had parted ways. However, fate had other plans for them and the duo got back together by February 2000 after Trump gave up his Reform Party race, as per reports.

When Donald Trump finally married Melania
Donald Trump and Melania attended the Met Gala event in 2004 together as a couple, and it was here at the glamourous event when Trump finally proposed to Melania. Of course, she said yes and the following year the couple got married at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

In 2006, Mr and Mrs Trump welcomed their only child together, son Barron, and embraced parenthood.


Melania missing from Trump's US Presidential campaigns in 2024?

From dating in 1998 to getting married in 2005 to being together till date, Donald Trump and Melania have been together for nearly two decades. This is Trump's longest-ever marriage; his first marriage with Ivanka Trump lasted for 15 years, and second with Marla Maples for six years. Over the years, the couple have gone through many ups and downs and it seems they have faired well so far. However, questions were raised when Melania was noticed to be largely absent from Donald Trump's US Presidential campaigns in 2024. But after Trump survived an assassination attempt, Melania not only posted in support of her husband but also appeared alongside him on the stage-- a reflection of their strong bond of 20 years through thick and thin.