Melania Trump’s surprising response when asked if she was just with Trump for money

Melania Trump may not be one to seek the spotlight, but the First Lady has always spoken her mind when it comes to opinions about her marriage to President Donald Trump, with whom she tied the knot in 2005.

The Slovenian native, who shares her 19-year-old son Barron with the politician, has been subject to questions about their connection from the very beginning. She was just 28 years old when they met, while her future husband was 52, sparking conversation around her intentions in the relationship. 

Speaking out

An ABC News interview from 1999 has resurfaced in recent weeks, taking place shortly after the pair went public with their romance. Correspondent Don Dahler asked about their relationship, prompting Melania to hit back at claims that she was only with Donald for his wealth. 

“You know, the people, they don’t know me,” she said in the interview. “People who talk like this, they don’t know me.” 

The journalist responded: “Well, you don’t see many 26-year-old supermodels on the arm of a 53-year-old car mechanic.”

© Chip Somodevilla

Melania rebutted: “You know what, you can’t sleep or to hug or to talk with beautiful things, with beautiful apartment, beautiful plane, beautiful cars, beautiful houses, you can’t do that.”

“You could feel very empty,” she added. “And if somebody said, ‘You’re with the man because he’s rich and famous,’ they don’t know me.”

The former Celebrity Apprentice host proposed in 2004, six years after their first meeting, and the pair married a year later. They welcomed their son Barron in 2006, adding to Donald’s brood of four children from his previous two marriages.

Future First Lady

© AFP via Getty Images

Interestingly, Melania was asked in the interview if she could see herself in the role of the First Lady in the future. “Yes, I would be very traditional like Jackie Kennedy. I will support him, I will do a lot of social obligations,” she said at the time. 

“I would stand by [my] man,” she declared, adding that she would end her modeling career for him. 

Melania’s time in the White House has been full of ups and downs, with the former model garnering criticism for her perceived lack of visibility and involvement in politics. 

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She addressed the criticism in a candid interview with Fox & Friends ahead of Donald’s 2025 inauguration, sharing that the public’s perception of her was false. 

“Maybe some people, they see me as just a wife of the president, but I’m standing on my own two feet, independent,” she said. “I have my own thoughts. I have my own yes and no.”

“I don’t always agree what my husband is saying or doing, and that’s okay,” she continued. “I give him my advice, and sometimes he listens, sometimes he doesn’t, and that’s okay.” 

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“I feel I was always me the first time [in the White House] as well,” she said, adding that the public “didn’t accept” or “understand” her during her husband’s first term. 

She explained her plans to expand her “Be Best” campaign, which aims to target children’s health, particularly regarding physical well-being, online safety and opioid abuse. 

To learn more about Melania’s journey to the White House, see below…