Donald and Melania Trump's relationship timeline: inside their 21-year marriage

Melania, who was born in Slovenia and immigrated to the United States in 1996, and Donald met at a NYFW party during his divorce proceedings from Marla, which were finalized in June 1999. He asked for her number despite having taken another date to the event, and though Melania initially rejected him, she ended up calling the number he gave her.

Melania and Donald started dating shortly after their meeting, and despite a brief split in 2000, at the 2004 Met Gala, which had the theme Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century, Donald proposed.

The couple tied the knot in January 2005 with a $2.5 million ceremony in Palm Beach and reception in Mar-a-Lago, where they also honeymooned. "Why are we going to leave our gorgeous, beautiful house, called Mar-a-Lago, and venture out to some tropical island where things aren't clean or whatever?" Donald told Larry King shortly after their nuptials.

On March 20, 2006, Melania and Donald welcomed their only child together, son Barron, who is currently a student at New York University's Stern School of Business. Prior to his arrival, Donald also said during his Larry King interview: "There's nothing like a good marriage, and there's nothing like having children. I have four great children. If you have the money, having children is great. Now, I know Melania, I'm not going to be doing the diapers. I'm not going to be making the food. I may never see the kids, frankly. No. She will be an unbelievable mother. I'll be a good father, but I'll be, you know, doing my deals."

Following Donald's seismic win against Hillary Clinton in November of 2016, he moved out of his New York City penthouse apartment and into the White House, while Melania waited until June, until the end of Barron's school year, to move in.

Though Melania has stood by her husband's side through his myriad of controversial victories and scandals throughout the years — including a felony conviction, an assassination campaign, and a second electoral win — reports have made no secret of her occasional disdain for life as a first lady, and for her second go at it, she was largely absent from the campaign trail save for moments such as the RNC and the inauguration, and now first lady again, she still often vanishes from view for weeks at a time, hiding out in Trump Tower in Manhattan or at Mar-a-Lago, per the New York Times.

Donald has also shown his support for his wife. In her January 2026 documentary Melania, which follows the first lady as she prepares for her husband's second inauguration, he called the film "incredible," while speaking with reporters. "You know, she did a book and the book was a big number one bestseller, and this is a movie, and it seems to be captivating a lot of people's attention," he added.