Will Melania divorce Donald Trump? Former First Lady sparks rumours after refusing photo with her husband

Twitter is convinced that Melania will divorce Donald Trump.

Following their departure from the White House, the ex First Lady has sparked rumours that she is on the verge of separating from the former President.

But all Melanie divorce Donald Trump?

Let's take a look at what prompted the rumours.

Melania and Donald Trump pictured outside White House on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 (Credit: PA)

Melania's relationship with Donald Trump

The former First Lady made it clear that she's looking for a break from the spotlight last week, when she refused to stop and pose for photos with Trump. Instead, she walked away without so much as a wave, as Trump smiled for the cameras.

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Footage of the incident quickly went viral on social media, with Twitter users commenting on the status of the Trump's marriage.

Some even went so far as to claim that the pair are headed for a divorce.

Melania speaks at the Justice Department's National Opioid Summit (Credit: PA)

How did Melania and Donald Trump meet?

Trump, then a real-estate mogul, met Melania at a party in September of 1998. They quickly started dating, while Trump was in the process of divorcing his second wife, Marla Maples.

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Melania and Trump got engaged in 2004, and tied the knot a year later. They were married in Palm Beach, Florida. The wedding was attended by the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, as well as Heidi Klum, Billy Joel, and Anna Wintour.

They share one child, Barron, who is currently 14-years-old.

In September 2020, Melania's former close friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff opened up about her marriage to Trump.

After publishing the book Melania and Me, Wolkoff told the BBC that the relationship was a "a transactional marriage".

She said: "I do believe it is a transactional marriage. Donald got arm candy, the Vogue cover (in February 2005) legitimised Melania which legitimised Donald as well, and Melania got two dynamic decades.

"She was a young model, she was striving, she didn't have the success yet. She met Donald, she married, she had a son, she became an American citizen and 10 years after that, she is the first lady of the United States.

"I do believe it was a magic moment, and I also believe it was a made-for-TV moment."

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he departs the White House (Credit: PA)

Melania and Trump in the White House

Trouble in the pair's marriage reportedly began when Trump won the presidency in 2016. Melania is famously said to have burst into tears when the news broke. And one friend claimed: "She never expected him to win."

She waited five months before moving to Washington from New York to join her husband. This was reportedly because their son, Barron, "needed to finish school".

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Once Melania made the move, the couple's relationship became strained, according to White House sources. So much so, it's claimed they started sleeping in different bedrooms.

"Donald Trump slept in his own bedroom," an insider told CNN. "It was previously a study or den during other administrations."

In 2018, the marriage reportedly became even more troubled with friends claiming that the couple had grown apart.

Some of their pals told the Washington Post that the pair were pretty much leading separate lives.

Affair rumours

In 2018, reports of an affair and pay off between the president and adult entertainer, Stormy Daniels, made the headlines. Per The Wall Street Journal, a lawyer for Trump allegedly arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels a month before the 2016 election to prevent her from discussing the alleged affair publicly.

According to Daniels, the affair took place in June of 2006. Just months after Barron was born.

Following this, the then First Lady was interviewed with ABC reporter Tom Llamas. When asked "Do you love your husband?" Melania replied: "Yes. We are fine. Yes."

However, she refused to issue comment on the purported affair, saying she has "much more important things to think about and do."

Melania and Donald Trump have been married for 16 years (Credit: PA)

Tensions rise between Melania and Trump

One incident that sparked conversation regarding the state of the Trump's marriage occurred in August of 2020.

When the then President and First Lady exited Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Melania appeared to brush her husband's hand away as he attempted to take it twice as they walked down the stairs.

This is not the first time that something like this has transpired.

Similar rebuffs occured during a press event in April of 2018, and when the couple were boarding Marine One in February of the same year. These two events, of course, came in the midst of the Stormy Daniels scandal.

Melania's relationship with Ivanka Trump

Melania's former friend and former senior advisor, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, wrote a book titled Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady. In it, she delves into Melania's "troubled" relationship with her step-daughter.

According to Wolkoff, Melania tried her best to distance herself from Ivanka. She claims that she and Melania took part in "Operation Block Ivanka". This referred to their alleged plan to keep Ivanka out of frame during Trump's inauguration.

Wolkoff also claims that Melania had a nickname for Ivanka: "Princess". She also reportedly once sent her a text about Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, which read, "You know how they are snakes."

Additionally, social media users were amused when a video of Ivanka at the 2020 Republican National Convention went viral. The footage sees Ivanka moving quickly past her stepmother, whose smile quickly fades.

Will Melania divorce Trump?

According to White House insiders, Melania was not keen on her husband running for President again. The source CNN that the former First Lady "just wants to go home" and is "not sad to be leaving".

Omarosa Manigault-Newman, former Trump aide, echoed these comments in her book Unhinged and went on to claim that Melania wants to end her marriage. She wrote: "In my opinion, Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce him."

However, neither Melania and Trump have stated that they are planning to separate.

Despite this, social media users remain fixated on the state of her marriage with Trump. This comes after the pair marked their 16th wedding anniversary on the January 22.

"Never seen her looking so happy, divorce papers at the ready!" wrote one Twitter user. Another corroborated: "Melania Trump running to the divorce lawyer office after leaving the White House."

What will Melania do next?

After departing the White House, it is said that the former First Lady plans to recede from the spotlight for a while, as reported by The Washington Post.

Friends also claim that she intends on resurrecting her "Be Best" campaign, which focused on children's well-being, chiefly by raising awareness of the dangers of cyberbullying and drug use.

"She plans to continue and expand it," former White House Advisor Kellyanne Conway told the Washington Post.

"She knows her input and influence on her legacy issues can be greater outside the White House."

What did Melania Trump do before her marriage?

Melania was born Melanija Knavs in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, which was previously part of Yugoslavia.

The 50-year-old studied architecture and design at the University of Ljubljana for one year. She dropped out to pursue modelling, which she started when she was just five-years-old.

Melania won a modelling contract in Milan, and then relocated to New York in 1996.