- By Sakshi Srivastava
- Wed, 16 Jul 2025 05:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A resurfaced 1999 interview of Melania Trump has reignited public interest in her long-debated relationship with Donald Trump, particularly surrounding accusations that she was with the business mogul only for his money. The Slovenian-born model, who met Trump in 1998 when she was 28 and he was 52, has long faced scrutiny over the nature of their relationship. But in the candid interview with ABC News correspondent Don Dahler, Melania didn’t hold back.
“You know, the people, they don’t know me,” Melania said firmly. “People who talk like this,they don’t know me.” The conversation took place just after the couple went public with their relationship. Dahler pointed out the age gap with a jab: “Well, you don’t see many 26-year-old supermodels on the arm of a 53-year-old car mechanic.”
Melania responded with unexpected candour: “You know what, you can’t sleep or hug or talk with beautiful things—beautiful apartment, beautiful plane, beautiful cars, beautiful houses—you can’t do that.” “You could feel very empty,” she added. “And if somebody said, ‘You’re with the man because he’s rich and famous,’ they don’t know me.”
From Model To First Lady In Waiting
The couple would go on to get engaged in 2004 and marry the following year. Their son, Barron Trump, was born in 2006. At the time of the interview, the idea of Donald Trump becoming President seemed far-fetched—but Melania appeared to have already considered the possibility. When asked if she could envision herself as First Lady, she said, “Yes, I would be very traditional like Jackie Kennedy. I will support him. I will do a lot of social obligations.” “I would stand by \[my] man,” she added, even stating she’d end her modeling career for him.
-1752666898866.jpg)
Old pictures of Donald Trump and Melania Trump.(Image Source: Reuters)
A Reserved Figure With Her Own Voice
Despite often staying out of the spotlight, Melania has consistently maintained her independence. In a 2025 interview with Fox & Friends, ahead of her husband’s potential second term, she addressed public criticism about her visibility and voice. “Maybe some people,they see me as just the wife of the president, but I’m standing on my own two feet, independent,” she said. “I have my own thoughts. I have my own yes and no.”
“I don’t always agree with what my husband is saying or doing, and that’s okay,” she continued. “I give him my advice, and sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn’t—and that’s okay.” Reflecting on her controversial time as First Lady, Melania also said, “I feel I was always me the first time \[in the White House] as well,” adding that the public “didn’t accept” or “understand” her during Trump’s first term.
While Melania Trump has often been cast as a quiet figure in the Trump orbit, the resurfaced interview reveals a side of her that’s both defiant and reflective—determined to defend her identity and choices in a relationship that has long been the subject of headlines and speculation.
