Melania Trump is back in the White House as America’s first lady for a second time — but her life and legacy go beyond her duties as the commander-in-chief’s wife.
She made a name for herself even before she met President Donald Trump, when she stepped foot on United States soil at age 26.
Born Melania Knauss, she came to America from Slovenia in 1996 with “youthful confidence.”
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“As an adult, there comes a moment when you become solely responsible for the life you lead,” she writes in her bestselling memoir, “Melania.”
“You must take charge, embrace that responsibility, and become the architect of your own future.”
Two years after living in Manhattan, the future Mrs. Trump met the real-estate mogul, Donald J. Trump, at a party while she was still deep into her modeling career.
“He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him,” the first lady said in a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar.
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“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.’”
The future president gave her all of his phone numbers, from numbers at Mar-a-Lago to his New York home — and within a week, she gave him a ring.
“I was struck by his energy… He has an amazing sense of vitality,” Melania Trump told the magazine.
The next few years involved the finalization of Trump’s second divorce and a brief split between the happy couple, but they eventually reunited, she has said in interviews.
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In 2004, Trump proposed to the future first lady at one of the biggest nights in New York City: the Met Gala.
The next year, the Trumps said “I do” at a most luxurious wedding, which was publicly described as being fit for royalty — from the stunning gown worn by the bride to the exquisite reception at Mar-a-Lago.
While the $100,000 Christian Dior wedding gown, 10,000 flowers on display and chefs serving caviar with Cristal champagne may have been highlights of the evening, Melania Trump said she felt like any other bride when she walked down the aisle.
“Although my wedding was grand in scale … what I felt in my heart was what every other bride feels on her special day. The pressure to ensure everything went smoothly was certainly real, but ultimately, my primary focus was celebrating Donald and my love and commitment, surrounded by my loved ones,” she wrote in her memoir.
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On March 20, 2006, the first lady gave birth to the couple’s son, Barron William Trump.
In the midst of raising Barron, she continued to find other ways work, inorder to set a good example for her son.
“It’s very important that we show our children that we are working, too. To give them an example [of] how life is,” she said in an exclusive interview with “Fox & Friends.”
“That they see us as productive. We have ideas and these ideas come to life,” she said.
After 10 years of raising her son, being the wife of a business mogul and working on her own endeavors, a new title was added to her long list of achievements: first lady of the United States.
She said she had no idea she would become a prominent figure in the political spotlight when she came to America.
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“I think nothing prepared me more to be first lady in front of the world than the fashion industry… It’s glamorous, but it’s at the same time very tough,” Melania Trump shared in her interview with “Fox & Friends.”
“Everybody judges you, [looks] at you a certain way … It can be a mean world as well. So nothing prepared me more for this world than fashion. It gives you a thick skin.”
During her time as first lady, she has been an avid supporter of America’s military, saying, “Supporting our military is a fundamental belief of mine,” Fox News Digital previously reported.
Her love and respect for this country was also clearly on display as she worked to preserve the executive mansion, seeing it as her way of “contributing something lasting and beautiful to the American people, transcending politics and partisanship.”
Having already served the country in this role, she knows what is expected of a first lady.
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That previous experience is an advantage she will be able to use for the next four years.
“I have much more experience, much more knowledge. I was in the White House before. So when you go in, you know exactly what to expect. You know what kind of people you need to get,” she told “Fox & Friends.”
She has an understanding of this role and said she’s filled with great pride — writing in her memoir that she has a “stronger sense of duty to use my platform as first lady for good.”
