US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are celebrating 20 years of marriage. From their first meeting at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998 to their current roles in the White House, their relationship has evolved significantly. To commemorate their anniversary, Trump shared a throwback wedding-day photo on X, writing, “Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania!”
Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania! pic.twitter.com/VIcXSQb4QO
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2025
In a separate post on the official POTUS account, Trump posted a picture of the couple and shared a tribute to Melania, writing, “Celebrating 20 years with my beautiful wife and our incredible First Lady, Melania. You’re an extraordinary wife and a wonderful mother. Happy Anniversary, @FLOTUS.”
Celebrating 20 years with my beautiful wife and our incredible First Lady, Melania. You’re an extraordinary wife and a wonderful mother.
Happy Anniversary, @FLOTUS! pic.twitter.com/BPTfeGpA7x
— President Donald J. Trump (@POTUS) January 22, 2025
Their relationship began when Trump, newly separated from his second wife, actress Marla Maples, met Melania, a Slovenian-born model. But Melania wasn’t immediately smitten. In a 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she recalled how she initially refused to give Trump her number, instead waiting for him to offer his. “I wanted to see what kind of number he would give me,” she explained.
At the time, Trump was navigating a divorce from Maples, which was finalised in 1999. Following this period of upheaval, Trump described Melania as “an amazing woman” and soon began a public relationship with her.
By 2004, the couple was at the Met Gala, where Trump surprised Melania with a proposal. “We are very happy together,” Melania told The New York Post after the engagement. They married in January 2005 in Palm Beach, Florida.
The couple’s desire to start a family soon followed. In a 2006 interview, Trump spoke of his excitement about becoming a father again. “I’m not going to be doing the diapers. She will be an unbelievable mother,” Trump said at the time. Their son, Barron William Trump, was born later that year.
Trump’s successful run for president in 2016 led to Melania taking on the role of First Lady. Praising her as an “amazing mother” at the time, Trump said he was confident she would also make an incredible First Lady. Melania and Barron moved into the White House in 2017, although they returned to their Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach before Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration.
With Trump back in the Oval Office for his second non-consecutive term, Melania has resumed her role as First Lady.