Getty Donald and Melania Trump walk at Marine One on September 11, 2018.
Tonight, on ABC News’ 20/20, Melania Trump will open up about her marriage to Donald Trump and her husband’s alleged infidelity in an exclusive interview.
The interview, conducted by ABC News’ Tom Llamas, took place on Melania’s recent solo trip to Africa. Clips of the exchange that have surfaced over the past few days show the First lady telling Llamas that she and Donald “are fine.”
Mounting curiosity about the episode has led people to ask just how Donald and Melania Trump met. They are, after all, 24 years apart. How old was Melania when she first met Donald? How long after did they get married?
GettyPresident Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive in Las Vegas.
Melania studied architecture and design at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. After graduating, she began to work steadily as a model. At age 26, she decided to move to the US to focus on her modeling career. It was just two years after moving that she met Donald Trump at a New York Fashion Week party hosted by Italian entrepreneur and founder of ID models management, Paolo Zampolli.
Donald was 52 at the time. He had four children and had been separated from his second wife for about a year. When he and Melania met at the party, Donald was on a date, so Melania reportedly refused to give him her number.
In a 2016 interview with Harpers Bazaar, the former model says, “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.” Apparently, Donald gave her all of his numbers. “… the office, Mar-a-Lago, home in New York, everything.”
A few days later, Melania did call Donald. She tells the outlet, “I was struck by his energy. He has an amazing sense of vitality.” Their first date happened at Moomba, a hip restaurant in New York.
Meland and Donald became engaged six years later. A year after that, in 2005, they tied the knot in Palm Beach, Florida. According to a wedding profile by People, the nuptials were attended by celebrities like Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, Rudy Giuliani, Barbara Walters, Regis Philbin, and Kelly Ripa. The wedding also included a performance by Billy Joel, who sang “Just the Way You Are.”
Melania wore a dress designed by the House of Christian Dior. According to People, it “required 300 feet of material and featured a 13-foot train and 16-foot veil.” The outlet reports that the dress took 1,000 hours to make and 550 hours to hand-stitch.
In March 2006, Donald and Melania gave birth to their son, Barron Trump.
In tonight’s interview, Melania will provide more details about her marriage. Asked if she hopes to spend another six years in the White House, she said, “I’m enjoying it. I really love to live in the Washington and in the White House. And yes, I’m enjoying it.”
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