In her memoir, “Melania,” former First Lady Melania Trump shares a candid glimpse into the night she first met Donald Trump at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998. She was 28 and new to the city at the time, working as a model. 

Trump, then 52, was attending the event with a “glamorous blonde companion.” According to Melania, that night’s encounter sparked a whirlwind romance that eventually led to marriage.

She described how, during their first encounter at the New York Fashion Week, Donald temporarily abandoned his attractive date to request her phone number. At that time, Melania declined to give him her number but accepted his business card after the pair discussed her family in Slovenia.

Melania related that she almost didn’t attend the event since she was tired after a trip to Paris, but couldn’t resist the excitement of Fashion Week.

She knew that Trump was a businessman or celebrity but didn’t know much about him. However, their brief meeting made a strong impression on her. She was unable to reach out to Trump right away due to a photo shoot in the Caribbean but recalls that the idea of getting in touch with him added a sense of excitement to her return.

A few weeks later, she decided to contact him. Their first date, a trip to Bedford, New York to look at a golf club he was interested in buying, started a relationship that eventually led to their marriage in 2005. Looking back on that night, Melania recalled that she made him wait, but he didn’t seem to mind. 

In thinking about why Trump pursued her, instead of his date at the time, Melania wrote, “I think he appreciated that I had knowledge and experience under my belt, maybe he saw me as someone he could have more in-depth conversations with?”

Her memories of that evening provide a rare look into the early days of their relationship. She explained that Donald’s charm didn’t initially sway her, but his persistence and their conversations that night intrigued her.

Their courtship may have started with some mystery, but it soon turned into a high-profile relationship that would eventually take them to the White House.

Her memoir was released on October 8, 2024, and is available online and at bookstores.