How Donald Trump Hinted Melania's Fully Done With Her Modeling Career
Melania Trump isn't the first lady anymore, but don't expect her to go back to her old job, either. According to Donald Trump, she's done with modeling.
Melania's modeling career began decades ago, when she was in her teens. Speaking to Today, the photographer credited for discovering her, Stane Jerko shared that a then-16-year-old Melania had been waiting to meet up with a friend at a Slovenian fashion show when he saw something special in her. They arranged for one test shoot, then another ... and soon enough, her career kicked off. The now-Mrs. Trump went on to feature in photoshoots for a number of European brands and outlets, before moving stateside in the late '90s. There, she continued to work as a model — and after she began dating Donald, her career only grew.
From a raunchy GQ shoot aboard her now-husband's plane, to featuring on the cover of Vogue ahead of their wedding, Melania was no stranger to high-profile shoots. However, she hasn't done a shoot since GQ's 2016 feature on her, ahead of the election that would see her become first lady. Donald famously criticized fashion media for that, claiming that his wife was being unfairly excluded. It appears that made a mark on the former model — and she has no intention of getting back into the biz.
Trump says his wife stopped caring about modeling
Donald Trump may have sprung to his wife's defense, calling out the magazines that hadn't offered her a cover, but it seems he was more fazed than Melania Trump was.
Speaking to Megyn Kelly, Trump pointed out that his political rise had coincided with his wife's career coming crashing down. He also said that he found the situation sad — particularly because Melania and Vogue editor Anna Wintour had previously had a great relationship. However, he doubled down that when it came to Melania herself, she wasn't bothered. And, this isn't an instance where we'd have to take his word for it.
As was revealed in a leaked conversation with former advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff (who, per the New York Times, Melania had met in the lead-up to her 2005 Vogue cover), being featured in a magazine was the last thing on her mind. Especially, it would seem, if said feature didn't guarantee a cover. Speaking to Wolkoff about the conversation she'd had, where the magazine offered a profile, and possibly a cover shoot, she complained, "Might be a cover? I don't need — I don't give a f*** about Vogue, and any magazine" (via NBC News).
However, Melania has said she felt prejudiced against
So, Melania Trump really doesn't care that she's not modeling anymore (Do u?) — but that's not to say she hasn't pointed out that she believed she faced prejudice as first lady. In fact, when asked about not featuring on the cover of Vogue (or any other magazine, for that matter), she didn't mince her words.
Speaking to Fox News in 2022, the former model smiled that every publication had things they agreed and disagreed with. However, she added that she believed it was obvious she fell into the latter category. But, once again, she alluded to not being bothered about it. "I have much more important things to do, and I did, in the White House, than being on the cover of Vogue," she said.
Even so, it wouldn't be completely accurate to say Melania's modeling days are completely behind her. In 2021, she shared a press release via X, formerly known as Twitter, to share that she was going into NFTs. The first image to go on sale was a watercolor painting of her eyes, titled "Melania's Vision." She's since gone on to release additional NFT collections — though the images featured are based on images taken of her during Donald Trump's presidency. Melania might not be shooting covers anymore, but she's found a way to pivot.