When Donald Trump took the stage at the Palm Beach Convention Center in Florida to announce victory in the US elections, Melania Trump was the model woman.
The 54-year-old graced the stage holding hands with 78-year-old President-elect Trump before praising his “beautiful wife” for her dedication and for “working very hard to help people” in his victory speech.
But the former First Lady’s face fell as Donald Trump ushered in a new “golden age of America” - in which she is expected to be at his side after four years of avoiding the spotlight while her husband endured numerous scandals.
Model and businesswoman Melania largely stayed off the campaign trail for this turbulent election, although she did appear at the Republican National Convention in July before introducing her husband at an event at Madison Square Garden last month.
However, the intensely private Slovenian-American now faces a new, very public four-year prison sentence in the White House, whose well-manicured environment she once compared to a Venezuelan prison.
Melania Trump stands alongside Donald Trump and Barron Trump as he takes the stage in Florida to hail his election victory
She shared a kiss with the 47th president-elect as he took the stage – after remaining largely invisible during the campaign
However, she looked altogether more muted as Trump began his victory speech
Friends have suggested that the incoming First Lady may not be enthusiastic about the White House for Donald Trump’s second term
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk out of the Oval Office and towards the White House Rose Garden in November 2020
Friends of Melania have reportedly suggested that she will not live in the White House
She lives in an apartment in Trump Tower, New York City, with son Barron, 18, while he studies his degree at New York University – and sources have suggested she will continue to live there and, occasionally, at Mar-a – Lake in Florida.
Melania reportedly hated living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — and once infamously compared the presidential palace to a Venezuelan military prison.
In October 2017, the then-First Lady met with Lilian Tintori, the wife of former Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo López, and said the White House felt as restrictive as a prison. WashingtonPost reported.
Multiple sources confirmed to the newspaper that she had made the comparison to the Ramo Verde prison, where López was reportedly tortured while imprisoned on allegedly politically motivated charges.
Her then-spokesperson Stephanie Grisham denied making the comments and fired back that the First Lady had only spoken “words of encouragement and strength” and that she enjoyed living in the White House.
After leaving the White House in the shadows of supporting her husband’s unproven election fraud allegations, she has remained largely hidden.
For example, she did not accompany her husband to court when he was tried for – and convicted of – falsifying company records about hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels after she claimed to have had an affair with Trump.
She was also not present to hold his hand in court in Miami, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of handling classified documents, or in Georgia, where he was charged with crimes related to attempts to to overturn the 2020 election results.
She stayed almost completely off the campaign trail and retained her background role after an attempt on his life in Pennsylvania in July – issuing only a written statement after the shooting.
“As I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized that my life, and Barron’s, was on the brink of devastating change,” she wrote, describing Trump as “the generous and caring man with whom I have worked with in recent years. best of times and worst of times’.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump after voting on Tuesday in Florida
Family matters appear to be an exception as she was seen applauding young Barron as he graduated from school in Florida earlier this year.
But overall, the former – and likely future – First Lady has avoided the spotlight and spent her time building her own business empire away from her husband’s.
Her new memoir, Melania, reveals a desire to be a completely independent woman, despite the apparent opulence that comes with marrying Donald Trump.
The book – hailed by the ex-POTUS as ‘the best-selling book in the country’ in his victory speech – sees her claim: ‘I am a firm believer in maintaining control of your own life no matter who you marry. ‘
Financial disclosures reported by DailyMail.com show how she raked in six-figure sums for her appearances at Republican events in the years after leaving the White House, even selling a hat she wore during a French state visit for $170,000 .
While sales of her memoir will continue to fuel her financial independence, the book failed to shed light on her relationship with her husband, sparking a long-standing wave of speculation about whether her marriage to Donald would be a happy one. are, was stirred up again.
One of the most revealing passages read: “I enjoyed cooking for him, supporting him in his daily routines, and maintaining a beautiful home.
‘It was my priority to safeguard his well-being, paying close attention to every aspect of his life.’
Another suggested that “occasional political disagreements between me and my husband” are “part of our relationship,” but those arguments are handled behind closed doors.
The book wasn’t particularly illuminating, other than revealing that, contrary to traditional Republican values, she was pro-choice on abortion rights — a clearer position than that of her husband, who has been on the fence about the issue for years.
But friends say she will move beyond the apparent indecision that kept her from moving into the White House five months after the 2016 election and simply choose not to move in at all.
“She’s definitely not going back to Washington to live,” a source told People this week.
‘She will be staying between Florida and New York. This is not what she signed up for.”