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Melania Trump opened up about 24-year age gap with Donald after making major promise

Home> News> Politics

Published 12:59 27 Jan 2025 GMT

Melania Trump opened up about 24-year age gap with Donald after making major promise

The then-29-year-old discussed her relationship with Trump in a tell-all interview back in 1999

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle

Melania Trump previously opened up about her 24-year age gap with husband Donald Trump after making a major promise.

Now, the pair first met back in 1998 at the Kit Kat Klub in New York City during Fashion Week before eventually getting engaged in 2004 and married the next year in 2005.

They then welcomed their first child together, Barron Trump, who was born in 2006.

Following Trump's inauguration last Monday (20 January), which saw the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency, a clip has began circling on social media of an interview with Melania conducted just a year after meeting who would go on to become her future husband - who was 53 at the time.

The interview in question, which aired back in 1999 when she was 29-years-old, saw Melania = who was Melania Knaus back then - explain that she 'pictured' herself as the First Lady.

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"You picture yourself the First Lady?" ABC News correspondent Don Dahler asked her, before she replied: "Yes, I will be very traditional, like Jackie Kennedy. I will support him. I will do a lot of social obligations."

Dahler then asked: "If you did become First Lady, it probably wouldn't be ethical for you to give commercial endorsements to products, so your modelling career might be over at that moment. What would you think about that?"

Melania Trump, then 29, opened up about her relationship with Trump, then 53, back in 1999 (ABC News)
Melania Trump, then 29, opened up about her relationship with Trump, then 53, back in 1999 (ABC News)

"I will stand by [my] man," Melania declared.

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"You'd be willing to give up your modelling?" Dahler reiterated, prompting Melania to confirm 'yes'.

He later asked if she'd been 'hurt' by speculation from people claiming she was only with Trump 'because he's rich', quipping that 'you don't see many 26-year-old supermodels on the arm of 53-year-old car mechanics.

"You know, the people, they don't know me. People who talk like this, they don't know me," Melania explained. "You can't sleep or to hug or to talk with beautiful things, with a beautiful apartment, beautiful plane, beautiful cars, beautiful houses, you can't do that, you could feel very empty."

Melania has consistently stood by her husband, including during his second presidential inauguration last week (Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images)
Melania has consistently stood by her husband, including during his second presidential inauguration last week (Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images)

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She added: "And if somebody said, you know, you are with the man because he's rich and famous, they don't know me."

According to ABC News, the mum-of-one also said she found speaking to the media 'tricky' and outlined that she needed to be 'careful'.

"I like to have my private life, too. Yes, but I'm always open. I'm not shy of the media. I'm not shy about the camera. That's my business."

"That's my modelling career. But it sometimes could be very tricky and unpleasant, unfair," she added.

Featured Image Credit: Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images

Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Sex and Relationships, Politics, US News, Celebrity

Rhiannon Ingle
Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Senior Journalist at Tyla, specialising in TV, film, travel, and culture. A graduate of the University of Manchester with a degree in English Literature, she honed her editorial skills as the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the UK’s largest student newspaper. With a keen eye for storytelling, Rhiannon brings fresh perspectives to her writing, blending critical insight with an engaging style. Her work captures the intersection of entertainment and real-world experiences.

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