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Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s 26-year relationship – a timeline: from marrying at Palm Beach in 2005 to welcoming son Barron Trump, his presidency and the Stormy Daniels affair

A look at Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s relationship, from marriage, to the birth of son Barron to his presidency. Photo: AP
A look at Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s relationship, from marriage, to the birth of son Barron to his presidency. Photo: AP
Donald Trump

Melania Trump was largely absent from the campaign trail, but she made an appearance on the 4th night of the RNC; there have been two apparent attempts on Donald Trump’s life in 2024

Former US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, met back in 1998 and have been married since 2005.

Here’s a complete timeline of their relationship, from their first meeting to their time together in the White House.

September 1998: They met at a party thrown by their mutual friend Paolo Zampolli

Melania Knauss and Donald Trump at the 2004 Met Gala. Photo: FilmMagic
Melania Knauss and Donald Trump at the 2004 Met Gala. Photo: FilmMagic
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When they first met in September 1998, Melania Knauss was working as a model in New York after immigrating to the US from Slovenia in 1996.

According to Vanity Fair, Trump and Knauss first crossed paths while attending a party – thrown by their mutual friend and co-owner of Metropolitan Models, Paolo Zampolli – at New York City’s Kit Kat Club during Fashion Week. Trump had brought a different date to the party.

1999: Trump and his second wife, Marla Maples, finalised their divorce

Marla Maples, Will Smith and Donald Trump in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Photo: Handout
Marla Maples, Will Smith and Donald Trump in an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Photo: Handout
Trump and his second wife, Marla Maples, finalised their divorce in 1999 – just after Trump and Knauss first crossed paths – but they’d been separated since 1997.

Per the New York Post, Maples told The Telegraph, “Donald was never the man I wanted to marry. He and his world were alien to me … I’m so happy to be away from Donald and I’m just trying to move as far away as I can.”

November 9, 1999: The couple did a controversial interview on The Howard Stern Show

Donald Trump and Melania Knauss at the Met Gala in 2007. Photo: Getty Images
Donald Trump and Melania Knauss at the Met Gala in 2007. Photo: Getty Images

In November 1999, Trump did a phone interview on The Howard Stern Show. The conversation quickly turned personal as Knauss was brought on the phone, and the couple started openly discussing their sex life with the host.