Donald and Melania Trump's relationship timeline: inside their 20 years together
The president and first lady first met in 1998, and in their time together have welcomed a son, Barron, and gone through one-and-a-half presidential administrations
The third time was the charm for Donald Trump. The 45th and 47th president of the United States has been married to wife Melania Trump (née Knauss) for 20 years; they met in 1998 and tied the knot in January 2005 at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Their relationship began in the midst of the former reality star's divorce from his second wife Marla Maples, to whom he was married from 1993 to 1999, and with whom he shares daughter Tiffany Trump.
He was first married to the late Ivana Trump — she passed away after a fall in her apartment in 2022 — from 1977 to 1990, and in their time together, they welcomed three kids, sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and daughter Ivanka Trump. Though she later recanted her allegations during his presidential campaign, Ivana accused her former husband of rape during their 1990 divorce proceedings, becoming one of at least 28 women to accuse him of sexual misconduct.
Read on for more of how his relationship with Melania unfolded.
Melania, who was born in Slovenia and immigrated to the United States in 1996, and Trump 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 Trump started dating shortly after their meeting, and though they briefly broke up in 2000, at the 2004 Met Gala, during which the theme was Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century, Trump proposed.
The couple tied the knot in January 2005 with a 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?" Trump told Larry King shortly after their nuptials.
On March 20, 2006, Melania and Trump welcomed their only child together, son Barron, who is currently a student at New York University. Prior to his arrival, Trump 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."
The Trumps with the Obamas on inauguration day in 2017
2017
Following Trump's seismic win against Hillary Clinton in November of 2016, Trump 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.
Melania went viral for shielding a kiss from Trump with her hat during his second inauguration
2025
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.
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