It was Fashion Week 1998, and the glittering lights of New York’s Kit Kat Klub had pulled in the city’s usual who’s who, and a newly single Donald Trump. But while the real estate mogul came in with a date on his arm, he was captivated by someone who wouldn’t play by his rules.
That person, of course, was Melania Knauss, the future First Lady.
Melania discusses how she met Donald Trump, their first date, and how they ended up married…
She is so elegant and graceful.. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yQjgnTeEN1
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) September 30, 2024
In a candid 2016 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Melania opened up about that fateful night when Trump first approached her in the VIP section. Despite being on a date, Trump had zero hesitation in making his move, but Melania wasn’t having it. “I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you,” she told him sharply.
Her reason? She wanted to see if he’d hand over a real number, not just a generic business contact. “What if it’s business?” she reportedly wondered at the time.
And while the scene may sound like the opening line of a rom-com, the moment was a shift for Trump, who handed over all his numbers. That move caught Melania’s attention. She told GQ she wasn’t exactly following his life back then, “I had my life, I had my world. I didn’t follow Donald Trump and what kind of life he had.”
But something about his “vitality” and “energy” struck her.
In her October 2024 memoir, Melania: A Memoir, she revisited that very night, once again remembering how she turned the tables on him and took control of the exchange. A few days later, she gave him a call, and the rest was history.
Their first date took place at Trump’s lavish Seven Springs estate in Bedford, New York, and Melania recalled feeling a spark from the very beginning. “From the moment our conversation began, I was captivated by his charm and easygoing nature,” she wrote.
The two dated for several years before Trump proposed at the 2004 Met Gala. A year later, they married in a glamorous ceremony at Mar-a-Lago. In 2006, they welcomed their only son, Barron.
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Before Melania, Trump had been married to Ivana Trump (1977–1990), with whom he had three children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. He later tied the knot with Marla Maples in 1993, which ended in 1999. They share daughter Tiffany.
What began as a bold move from a man already dating someone else turned into a two-decade-long partnership, political power plays, and a son who’s now stepping into the spotlight himself.
But if Melania hadn’t demanded the number that night? Well, history might have looked a little different.
