Meeting Donald Trump
Melania moved to Manhattan in 1996, but it was only two years later when she first met her future husband. She met Donald Trump while at a party at the Kit Kat Club hosted by Paolo Zampolli during Fashion Week in September of 1998. Trump in the process of divorcing second wife Marla Maples at the time, and he was at the party with another date named Celina Midelfart. Despite all that, when Celina was in the restroom, Trump tried to get Melania’s phone number.
Meeting Donald Trump
A Rocky Start
Although she initially rejected him because he was at the party with another woman, eventually Melania agreed to go out with the real estate mogul, and the couple went on their first date at Mooma in Greenwich Village. The two then had an on and off relationship for a while before becoming more solid later on. In 1999, the two gained attention for a lewd interview with Howard Stern, and later the pair became even more highly visible once Trump launched his reality showThe Apprentice in 2004.
A Rocky Start