What Melania Trump's Former White House Aides Say She's Really Like

Behind Donald Trump's big personality, Melania Trump can sometimes slip into the shadows. But several people have gotten to know the former first lady pretty well, and they have revealed what Melania is like behind the scenes.

Melania married Donald in 2005 after years of being on and off with the businessman. Being married to a famous real estate mogul brought a new sense of fame to Melania's life, but she had no idea what was to come. In 2015, Donald announced his run for the 2016 presidential election. Throughout his campaign, Melania stood by his side even as criticism was thrown her way. Donald went on to win the election, and despite her husband's big move to the White House, Melania held off on making the drastic change. The reason behind the hesitancy was that the couple's son, Barron Trump, was finishing school in New York.

Melania finally moved into the most famous home in the United States in July 2017. In October 2018, the first lady spoke about the move with ABC, explaining, "I love Washington. I love to live there. And I made the White House home — for our son and my husband — and we love to live in the White House." Melania spent a lot of time in the White House, and now White House aides are revealing the juicy details of what the former first lady was really like.

Despite being in the public eye 24/7, there is still a sort of mystery that surrounds Melania Trump. On the outside, it may seem like Trump never cared about what people thought of her or seemed to have any opinions about anything. Trump's demeanor and behavior bewildered many who had kept tabs on the first lady, and it turns out — she loved that. A former White House aide revealed to Newsweek that Trump used her quiet demeanor for protection. Not only that, but they claimed the former first lady's "intentional lack of communication" would confuse the media and keep in line the "narrative of being mysterious and an enigma."

Trump was not as oblivious as many people may have thought. Former aide to the first lady, Stephanie Grisham, revealed in her memoir, "I'll Take Your Questions Now," that Trump was aware of what people had to say about her. In excerpts obtained by CNN, she wrote, "Like her husband and all of his kids, Mrs. Trump scrutinized her press clippings like an expert architect focusing on blueprints. No detail was overlooked, nothing missed her eye. She had Google alerts set up for herself and saw everything." In the memoir, Grisham revealed that Trump would often turn to her on how to respond to what people were saying about her, all while keeping her mysterious character.

There was plenty of speculation that Melania Trump didn't want to move from New York to the White House. In fact, the first lady avoided moving to the White House for nearly a year, and when she finally did, she was hardly in her office.

Stephanie Grisham, a former aide to the first lady, revealed in her memoir, "I'll Take Your Questions Now," that she only saw Trump in her office a "handful of times," as noted by CNN. Grisham explained, "When warranted, we would have in-person meetings, but those generally took place in the Map Room across from the elevators to the residence ... Other than that, the first lady kept to her rooms in the residence." Trump hardly left her personal rooms in the White House, so much so that she even got dubbed the nickname "Rapunzel" by secret service agents "because she remained in her tower, never descending."

Trump also reportedly spent much of her time in the White House doing self-care. Grisham revealed she hardly heard from the first lady before 10 a.m. because she was usually sleeping. The former White House aide said, "She believed that relaxation was central to one's beauty regimen, as were, of course, spa treatments and facials." Besides self-care, Grisham claims Trump also spent her time putting photos of herself into photo albums. Trump found these things to be important, although it may not be typical of what a first lady spends most of her time doing. 

Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump had a heated relationship in the White House. According to CNN, Ivanka and Melania's similar desire to command in the spotlight caused tension, and it didn't help that Ivanka had a more natural ability when it came to the tasks she took on during her father Donald Trump's presidency. She was able to speak on government issues, she knew how to work with the media, and she became a familiar face in the administration; Melania, however, seemed to struggle with this. Although the tension between Melania and Ivanka was all speculation, a White House aide seemed to confirm the former first lady's dislike toward her stepdaughter.

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, former advisor to the first lady, revealed in her memoir, "Melania and Me," that Melania would often refer to Ivanka as the "princess," per People. Melania also reportedly created an "Operation Block Ivanka" committee to keep the political figure out of some of the best photos from Donald's 2017 inauguration after Ivanka tried to steer the attention toward her. Wolkoff wasn't the only one to confirm the tension. In Stephanie Grsham's book, she, too, wrote about the first lady's conflicts with Ivanka, per CNN. Grisham revealed that things would especially become heated between the two whenever Ivanka inserted herself in foreign affairs. The picture-perfect relationship Melania and Ivanka tried to present to the media wasn't the truth behind the scenes.