Melania Trump Made A Bold Yet Unexpected Move to Get Donald’s Attention When They First Met

The third time's the charm! Donald Trump's marriage to Melania has been the longest one yet. Melania first met Donald in 1988 at a Fashion Week party, but it wasn't until five years later that Donald asked her to be his wife. As reported by Nicki Swift, Donald, already an established celebrity and businessman, was intrigued by the young Slovenian model the moment he saw her. Melania, however, wasn't so keen. Instead, of simply giving Donald her phone number, Melania made a bold move—she refused. 

“If I give him my number, I’m just one of the women he calls,” she told GQ in 2016. So, she asked for his number and waited a full week before reaching out. In her memoir launched on October 8, the former First Lady recounted the 1988 meeting and revealed that she was drawn to 'his magnetic energy' the moment Donald made his move. “He was accompanied by a beautiful date, so I initially dismissed our conversation as mere pleasantries exchanged at an industry event,” she penned, as per Variety. 

She further penned, "When his companion left for a moment, he asked me for my phone number. I politely declined his request. He was a little surprised." When Melania asked for Donald's contact instead, the business tycoon, intrigued by her confident demeanor, agreed and had his bodyguard write down his digits on a business card, which he handed to her. “I’ll give you my number,” he allegedly said, if 'you promise to call me.'

While Donald had a reputation for quickly moving through relationships—his first marriage to Ivana Trump was plagued with infidelity scandals, and his second marriage to Marla Maples only lasted five years—his third marriage seems to be going strong. Melania explained that she wasn’t impressed by Donald's fame or wealth. She opined that it was this indifference that made her stand out in Donald's eyes.

“We had a great connection, we had great chemistry, but I was not starstruck... Maybe he noticed that,” she said. As Donald continued his public life, filled with wealth, business ventures, and constant media attention, Melania kept a distance, becoming what some sources described as the ideal, low-maintenance partner that he appreciated.

In his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, Donald himself described his ideal woman as someone who required little maintenance and didn’t demand too much of his time or energy. According to biographer, Mary Jordan, Melania studied Donald's preferences closely. In her 2020 book, The Art of Her Deal, Jordon added, “She also didn’t make herself too available to the man who had said that nothing was more attractive to him than something he couldn’t have.” 

Their marriage survived despite Donald's alleged history of infidelity, including an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Moreover, in 2005, the year he wed Melania, he was recorded boasting off-camera that his fame allowed him to grab women by the genitals without consequence. Despite the challenges, their relationship has remained intact. The couple will celebrate 20 years of marriage in January 2025.