Melania Knavs, a Slovenia native, came to New York in 1996 to pursue a career in modelling. Three years later, she met business magnate Donald Trump at a party, who reportedly asked for her number while his date was in the bathroom. Melania said she felt an immediate connection and “great chemistry” with him and the two started dating soon after their first meeting.
In April 2004, after dating Melania on and off for more than five years, Mr Trump proposed to her with a 15-karat, $1.5 million (£1,149,866) diamond ring.
They got married the following year.
During an interview with Intelligencer in 2010, the former model revealed that she and Donald were still in the honeymoon phase, even after five years of marriage and ten years of dating.
When asked who her favourite New Yorker was, Melania immediately responded: “Donald J. Trump.”
When questioned on what she really thought of her husband, she rebutted: “[The] Sexiest man in the world.”
The former model appeared much more open to discuss intimate details of her relationship to Mr Trump before becoming First Lady.
In 2013, the former model sat down with ET and lifted the lid on the “different romance” they share.
She said: “He [Donald] is a romantic guy.
“It’s a different romance than maybe some other people have but he’s a very different man anyway.
“We have a great relationship and we are both very independent.
“We love what we do and that’s the most important [thing]. We have great quality time together.”
Recalling some of the favourite things she and Donald like to do together, Melania added: “We love to go to the movies. We love to just have a dinner, the two of us with friends.
“We love to go to Mar a Lago, spend time [with] the three of us: Barron, Donald, and me together – playing sport and just spending time together, no matter where we are just having a great time.”
Since Mr Trump’s presidency, the couple have opted not to speak publicly about their marriage, and instead focus on political matters at hand.
Melania told ABC last year: “I know people like to speculate and media like to speculate about our marriage and circulate the gossip.
“I understand the gossip sells newspapers, magazines … and, unfortunately, we live in this kind of world today.”
Melania added she has “more important things to think about” than answering questions on her marriage to Donald.