President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump celebrated their 20th anniversary Wednesday as they begin their journey into the president’s second term in office.
“Happy anniversary,” the president wrote to his wife on his social media platform Truth Social.
The couple married on Jan. 22, 2005, at Bethesda-By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida. Their wedding was a lavish event attended by A-list celebrities and politicians, including former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Walters, The Apprentice television executive Mark Burnett, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, American Idol star Simon Cowell, supermodel Heidi Klum, singer Billy Joel, Judge Jeanine Pirro, singer Donna Summers, and boxing promoter Don King.
Following the wedding was an equally extravagant reception at Mar-a-Lago. The first lady was dressed in a $100,000 Christian Dior wedding gown that included a 13-foot train and 16-foot veil.
#memories #mywedding pic.twitter.com/Z3mHoRre
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) January 22, 2013
The couple met at a fashion party in New York in 1998 and the following year, the president divorced from his then-wife Marla Maples. The first lady was then known as a Slovenian model who appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and GQ. The pair became engaged in 2004 and married in 2005. Their only child, Barron Trump, was born in 2006.
The president experienced a boom in his celebrity persona in the 2000s with the run of NBC’s The Apprentice.
The couple famously changed political history when they descended down an escalator at Trump Tower in New York City to announce his White House run, which launched them into his first presidency from 2017 to 2021.
On this day in 2015, Donald Trump descended an escalator at Trump Tower in New York City and announced his run for the presidency. https://t.co/oKmZyMrAzz pic.twitter.com/3ycXxh8dMA
— ABC News (@ABC) June 16, 2020
The first lady made it clear in 2018 that she was not concerned about the media’s relentless opinions of her when she famously wore a green Zara jacket with the message “I really don’t care” on the back in white letters.
“‘It’s a message for the media,’ I said, ‘to let them know I was unconcerned with their opinions of me,’” the first lady recently said in her memoir, referencing the media obsession over her wearing the famous jacket.
The marriage experienced some slings and arrows during the president’s criminal prosecution from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into a payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The president repeatedly said he was “totally innocent” and called the trial “a very terrible experience.”
“It’s been a political witch hunt,” the president said. “It was done to damage my reputation so that I’d lose the election, and obviously, that didn’t work.”
Wishing a very happy 20th anniversary to our 45th and 47th President @realDonaldTrump and our wonderful First Lady @MELANIATRUMP!
pic.twitter.com/xGJZLwEZvv
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 22, 2025
The couple also went through the harrowing assassination attempt on the president’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, while he was campaigning in the battleground state during his 2024 presidential bid.
“It’s a miracle,” the first lady said to Fox News in September about the terrifying moment.
She slammed the media for “fueling a toxic atmosphere” and inspiring those who “want to do harm to him.”
Melania Trump on Trump assassination attempt: “I think both of the events are really miracles. If you really think about it July 13th was really miracle. I think something was watching over him. It’s almost like country really needs him.” pic.twitter.com/1FXowKqRYD
— David lester Straight (@lesterstra) September 27, 2024
“Is it really shocking that all this egregious violence goes against my husband? Especially that we hear the leaders from the opposition party and mainstream media branding him as a threat to democracy, calling him vile names?” she said, adding, “This needs to stop.”
The first lady, a Catholic, said she believed God “was watching over him.”
She released a bestselling memoir in October that revealed many personal insights into her views, her relationship, the joys of motherhood, and other personal experiences.
The Trumps celebrated their anniversary this week with numerous inaugural events, during which the first lady stole the show in her stunning dresses and iconic looks.
She revealed in a Fox News interview in January about the secrets to the success of their marriage.
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“I have my own thoughts. I have my own ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ I don’t always agree with what my husband is saying and doing, and that’s okay,” she said of how they communicate with each other.
“Sometimes he listens. Sometimes he doesn’t. And that’s okay,” she added about how they respect each other’s opinions.
