Great escape
Melania’s plot to dump Trump
Since the beginning of Donald Trump’s journey to the White House, there’s been one woman firmly digging in her nude Manolo Blahnik heels, resisting the public life that comes with politics – his wife Melania.
The fiercely private former model has decidedly not embraced the role of devoted First Lady, refusing to hold hands with her touchy-feely husband at official events and even greeting him publicly with a handshake rather than an affectionate kiss.
There are also rumours that Melania – who hasn’t been seen in public for three weeks following a mysterious kidney operation – is yet to properly move into the White House 16 months after her husband’s inauguration.
All of these things have done nothing to deflect the spotlight cast on a marriage that has been tarnished with tales of infidelities – most recently reports that Donald paid porn star Stormy Daniels $190,000 in hush money to deny an affair they had in 2006.
Now has learnt that the First Lady has finally had enough, with a White House insider revealing, “Melania has told friends she’s ready to pull the plug on her marriage. She has met with lawyers who are gunning for a multimillion-dollar pay-off, an apartment in Manhattan and millions in child support for their son Barron.”
Before Donald launched his political career, Melania, 48, stayed firmly out of the celebrity fast lane, preferring to bring up Barron, 12, their only child together, behind the closed doors of their New York penthouse.
But that all changed when the 71-year-old former host of set his sights on becoming the president – something that the Slovenian beauty allegedly begged him to rethink, voicing her concerns that her private life would suddenly be open for the public to pick apart.
Hidingthepain
Of course, her worries have been proven warranted. Since Donald’s inauguration in January 2017, the world has watched – and at times gasped – at the tell-tale signs that their 13-year marriage is anything but blissful. And it wasn’t long before a cascade of women, including porn star Stormy, 39, started to regale the details of their affairs with the billionaire businessman.
“If her husband wasn’t president, Melania would have dumped him months ago,” explains the insider. “The stories have left her humiliated. She’s very proud and it’s difficult for her to keep her head up high when all she wants to do is cry, but she’s trying to be like Queen Elizabeth by putting duty first and keeping calm.
“Melania loved their old life and wishes he’d never run for president. Sure, things weren’t perfect between them, but at least she didn’t get these stories raining down on her every day. Her view in the old days was that if she didn’t know about it, it couldn’t hurt her. But now she gets a daily barrage of bad news and she’s stopped even trying to explain things to Barron.”
While stoic in public, the statuesque fashionista has been pouring her heart out about her marriage woes to her friends – and even France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron, who has described Melania as feeling “constrained”.
However, the First Lady is determined to remain dignified for her own selfesteem and also for her son. Our insider says, “She lives her life around Barron. They’re incredibly close.”
Still, the viral hashtag #freemelania isn’t likely to become a reality any time soon because the real estate mogul, financially stung by his two previous divorces, had his third wife sign an iron-tight prenuptial arrangement.
To negotiate a favourable exit deal, Melania reportedly had to agree to stay with her husband until the next presidential election in 2020.
“But she doesn’t want people feeling sorry for her,” says our insider. “If Melania really wanted to walk away she could do it now, but she’s determined to leave on her own terms.”