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Prior to his marriage to Melania Trump, Donald Trump was married two other times, with the media mogul marrying his first wife, Ivana, in 1977.
He would then marry his second wife, Marla Maples, in 1993, after the couple were rumored to have had an affair during their first marriage.
In 1998, Donald met his current wife, Melania, and the couple married in 2005. Over the course of his three marriages, however, the 76-year-old is said to have engaged in a series of rumored affairs, while that he, too, has faced numerous accusations of sexual misconduct.
Earlier this month, Melania Trump was conspicuously absent when her husband turned himself in to authorities in Manhattan after being charged with 34 felony counts.
The former first lady’s absence raised speculation about the status of the couple’s marriage, with some questioning whether Melania chose not to accompany her husband to New York City due to the nature of the charges. The former president faces charges of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Although it is not clear if Melania remained in Mar-a-Lago during her husband’s arrest, a source said People that she is “still happy” at the Florida resort, where she “leads her own life” but “still angry and doesn’t want to hear” about the alleged hush money.
This is a timeline of Trump’s marriages and the sexual misconduct allegations he has faced.
Donald and Ivana’s relationship
Donald and his first wife married in 1977, and the couple became parents to three children, sons Donald Jr and Eric, and daughter Ivanka.
However, the businessman was said to have been unfaithful during the marriage, while several women have accused Donald of sexual assault in the years during his relationship with Ivana.
In 2016, Jessica Leeds said The New York Times that Donald “grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt” during a flight in the early 1980s.
The former president also refused to deny the rumors of infidelity. “I don’t have to answer that. I never talk about my wife, which is one of the advantages of not being a politician. My marriage is and should be personal,” he said. Playboy in 1990 when the magazine asked him if he and Ivana were monogamous, before adding: “I think any man enjoys flirting, and if I said no, I’d either be lying or a politician trying to get the extra four votes.”
Donald is also said to have started his relationship with Marla Maples in 1990, during their first marriage, which eventually culminated in their first divorce, which was finalized in 1992.
Donald and Marla get married in 1993
The businessman married his second wife shortly after finalizing the divorce from Ivana, and shortly after the birth of their daughter Tiffany and Maples.
However, Donald’s second marriage lasted only a few years and the couple divorced in 1997. During their brief marriage, Donald was also reported to have committed infidelity. In 2019, Carroll also accused Donald of sexually assaulting her in a Bergdorf Goodman locker room in the mid-1990s, and the columnist sued her former president for defamation and assault. The trial will begin on April 25.
Donald and Melania meet in the fall of 1998
Melania Knauss, born in Slovenia, moved to New York City to pursue a modeling career. There, she was introduced to her future husband during a Fashion Week party at the Kit Kat Club.
Melania, who was 28 at the time, says that Donald, who was 52 at the time and recently separated from his second wife, Marla Maples, with whom he shares daughter Tiffany, asked for her number.
“He wanted my number, but he was on a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him,” Melania said. harper’s bazaar of his first meeting with the real estate magnate and later father of four children.
However, Melania said that she instead asked Donald to give her his number and promised to call him.
“I told him, ‘I’m not giving you my number; Give me yours, and I’ll call you. I wanted to see what kind of number it would give me, if it was a business number what is this? I’m not doing business with you,” she recalled.
She finally called him a few days later, saying she was “blown away by his energy” and his “incredible sense of vitality.”
Melania and Donald go on their first date shortly after meeting
In the interview with harper’s bazaarMelania said her and Donald’s first date involved dinner and a visit to the old New York City hotspot, Mooma.
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“I remember that night like it was two months ago,” he said.
Donald proposes to Melania at the Met Gala in 2004
After a rough few years, during which Donald launched an unsuccessful presidential campaign and the couple briefly split, the couple got engaged at the Met Gala in 2004. The real estate mogul proposed with a 15-carat diamond engagement ring.
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“It was a big surprise. We are very happy together,” Melania, then 33, told the New York Post At the time.
Donald, who was also previously married to Ivana Trump with whom he shares children Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr, opened up about his relationship with Melania during an appearance on Live! with regis and kelly shortly after the engagement.
“Well, we’ve had a great relationship, we’ve been together for five years and it really was time,” he said. “And you know, Melania is a great woman, a great person and I’m very happy about that.”
Couple marries in Florida on January 22, 2005 and welcomes their son a year later
Melania and Donald exchanged vows during a church ceremony before celebrating their wedding at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
The extravagant wedding was reportedly attended by 350 guests and cost between $1 million and $2.5 million.
On March 20, 2006, Melania, who announced her pregnancy with a bikini photo session in Fashiongave birth to the couple’s first and only child, Barron William.
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The newbie star reportedly reunites with Daniels
Stormy Daniels shared details about her alleged meeting with the former president during an interview with 60 minutes in 2018 and claimed that she met Donald at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada in 2006.
Daniels claimed that Donald, then 60, invited her to dinner and that they had sex in his hotel room.
The adult film star also alleged that Donald invited her to various parties and to his office in Trump Tower in New York.
Donald announces second presidential run
In 2015, the reality TV star announced that he would be campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.
At that moment, Melania told him G.Q. that she “chose not to go into politics and politics” but reportedly “encouraged” her husband to run for president.
Melania says she accepts her husband’s apology for resurfaced comments about women
In October 2016, just before the elections, the washington post released a tape of Donald recounting access to hollywood presenter Billy Bush is able to “grab” women “by the pussy.” “When you’re a star, they let you do it,” he said in the 2005 tape.
Melania defended her husband over the derogatory comments about women that resurfaced.
“This does not represent the man I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and he will focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world,” he said.
In 2016, People Journalist Natasha Stoynoff also alleged that the mogul sexually assaulted her when she went to interview him and Melania at Mar-a-Lago.
Donald wins the 2016 presidential election
His family joined Donald at a rally in New York on November 8, where he and Melania learned together that he had won.
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On January 20, 2017, Melania officially became First Lady as her husband moved into the White House. She remained in New York, where her son was still attending school.
Karen McDougal alleges affair with Donald before Barron’s birth
In February 2018, the Playboy model told thethe new yorker she had an affair with the former president in the months before the birth of her son.
At the time, a White House spokesman denied the allegations, telling the outlet: “The president says he never had a relationship with McDougal.”
Daniels talks about alleged romance
In 2018, Daniels gave a televised interview about her alleged affair with the then-president.
At the time, a White House spokesperson denied the claims, stating, “The President has vigorously, clearly, and consistently denied these underlying claims, and the only person who has been inconsistent is the one making the claims.”
Daniels’ interview came after theWall Street Journal reported that Donald’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, facilitated a $130,000 payment to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.
Melania assures that she and her husband are “fine”
In October 2018, an ABC reporter asked Melania if she loves her husband, to which she replied: “Yes. We’re ok. Yeah.”
The couple moves out of the White House for the last time
In January 2021, after the former president lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, the couple moved from Washington, DC to Mar-a-Lago.
Melania predicts what her husband’s return to the White House would be like
In November 2022, the former first lady praised her husband’s 2024 presidential bid, telling Breitbart News that she “supports” his decision to run again.
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“His achievements during his administration had a great effect on all of us, and he can guide us to success and prosperity again,” she told the publication.
Donald is seen without Melania during his arraignment in New York
Although the 76-year-old was not accompanied by his wife in New York, he was reportedly seen dining with her at Mar-a-Lago last Thursday, just after news of the indictment broke, according to the New York Post.
Carroll’s trial will take place
Over the years, at least 26 women have accused the former president of sexual assault. Carroll is suing Donald for rape and for defaming his character by denying the allegations. The civil trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in the US District Court in Manhattan. As of now, it is unclear if Donald will attend unless he is subpoenaed to appear as a witness.
The former president has denied all the accusations against him.