Donald’s wife wasn’t always rich–she grew up in the industrial town of Sevnica, Slovenia and was originally named Melanija Knavs.
Growing up, Melania and her hometown friends used to participate in fashion shows that were organized by their parents.
Back in 1987, the potential first lady chased after her modeling dreams and was named as ‘Slovenia’s Face of the Year’ after winning a contest.
After moving to the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, Melania got her big break when she was discovered on the street by a photographer named Stane Jerko.
In 1984, the former model graduated from the local high school. Her friends have mentioned that she always dreamed of leaving their hometown and moving abroad.
Melania’s father Viktor Knavs was a listed member of the League of Communists, however, her mother Amalija Ulcnik was not a member.
After moving to New York City to live out her modeling dreams, Donald’s wife changed her name from Melanija Knavs to Melania Knauss.
Melania met husband Donald Trump when he was 52-years-old and she was 28 working as a model–he was determined to date her
Donald actually arrived at the party that night with another woman and sent her to the bathroom so he could speak to Melania and try to get her phone number.
Throughout her modeling career, Melania has participated in some pretty racy photoshoots–and has even posed in the nude.
Not sure if this is some sort of Freudian Complex, but Melania’s husband Donald Trump has a strange resemblance to her father Viktor.
One of the former model’s friends from her hometown has stated that Melania isn’t ‘especially clever’ but that she’s smart about fields that she’s interested in–like jewelry.
Although Melania’s father never publically acknowledged him, she has a half-brother by the name of Denis Cigelak–she has stated that she’s known of Denis for years.
It’s no secret that the billionaire’s wife enjoys the finer things in life–their Manhattan penthouse located at the Trump Tower is decked out in 24k gold and marble.
Melania was featured on many magazine covers over the past few decades, including this iconic one from GQ Magazine.
Here’s a surprising fact: Donald’s presidential opponent Hillary Clinton and her husband former president Bill Clinton were guests at their wedding!
She Spent $1 Million On Their Wedding
Like we mentioned earlier, Melania has exquisite taste so she wasn’t sparing any expenses at her and Donald’s big day.
Before Melania married Donald Trump back in 2005, he had two previous wives–Ivana Trump and Marla Maples.
Recently Became A Permanent Resident
This one may come as bit of a surprise–Melania wasn’t a permanent resident of the United States until July 2006, just one year after her marriage to Donald.
Donald Sr. is 24-years older than his wife, meaning she is actually closer in age to his son, Donald Jr. who is only a few years younger than her.
Also, Melania is only 12-years older than Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka. Talk about an awkward family.
She’s Raising Their Son As A “Mini-Donald” Melania refers to her and Donald’s son Barron as ‘little Donald’ and claims that he’s his father’s biggest fan. He dresses similar to Donald and always wears suits.
At the Republican national convention, Melania recited a speech that sounded oddly similar to current first lady Michelle Obama’s back in 2008.
Over a decade ago, Melania stated that if she were ever to be the first lady, she would be very traditional like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy.
If Donald Trump wins the presidential election, Melania will be only the second first lady in history who wasn’t born in the United States–the only other was Louisa Adams.
