Donald Trump’s wife, Melania, does not want to divorce him despite the Stormy Daniels case, says an American commentator

American broadcaster Cooper Lawrence has revealed why a divorce is not at stake for Donald Trump and his wife Melania.

The former First Lady, 52, was conspicuously absent from her husband’s side as he was arraigned in New York on Tuesday over charges of ‘hush money’ paid to porn star Stormy Daniels following an alleged affair.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records while facing a judge in New York – becoming the first United States president to be indicted and charged with a felony.

She was also nowhere to be seen when the president delivered a defiant speech at Mar-a-Lago later that night, condemning the New York prosecutor and judge presiding over his arraignment.

And while some commentators argue that Melania’s no-show proves her marriage is over, Ms. Lawrence believes the ex-model knows better than to leave such a lucrative arrangement.

‘I think [Melania] is tired of being ashamed of [Donald]…but we’ve seen women stand behind their men many, many times because the attitude is, ‘Listen, you messed up. Why should I be poor?’ Mrs. Lawrence told Australian breakfast program on TV sunrise on Wednesday.

Ms Lawrence said rumors have been circulating in New York for years that Melania and Trump’s marriage is just a “business relationship”.

‘I’m not sure. I’ve never met her, but they say, you know, it’s a symbiotic relationship,’ Mrs Lawrence speculated.

“He gets the hot model on his arm. She gets rich and she becomes a US citizen and then she becomes first lady… [and] part of their business is for her to stand by him,” she added.

Slovenian-born Melania began dating then-real estate mogul Trump in 1998 while he was still in the process of divorcing his second wife Marla Maples.

The couple married in 2005 and Melania became a US citizen in 2006, months after the birth of their son Barron.

It is known that at the beginning of the Trump presidency, Melania spent months in the couple’s Trump Tower apartment.

Stormy Daniels, meanwhile, claims she had a sexual affair with Trump in 2006, a month after Melania gave birth to Barron, who is now 17.

Last week, a source told DailyMail.com that Melania will support Donald in his fight against the new criminal charges.

Mrs. Trump is strong. She is focused on her family and stands by her husband, as always,” the source said.

“Over the past 7 years, the left has made multiple attempts to smear and attack her family and this is just the latest attempt to bring him down.”

The statement of support was a change in tactics for Melania Trump, who was furious when reports of Trump’s extramarital affair with Daniels surfaced. He has denied the affair and all wrong doings.