What Melania Trump Has Said About Plastic Surgery Amid Rampant Rumors

One of the rumored dark secrets of Melania Trump is that she has undergone multiple plastic surgeries. One X, formerly Twitter, user theorized that there was proof the former first lady went under the knife because her nose looked nothing like Barron Trump's nose. Word that Melania had work done had circulated long before Donald Trump was president. In July 2011, Melania addressed the rumors that she had cosmetic procedures performed in order to keep up her appearance. "No. I don't get any Botox — even though it's been reported elsewhere that I've had Botox done," she told Allure at the time. Melania did not stop at denying she had injections. "I'd never do anything on my face or my body," she added. Instead of Botox or other procedures, Melania credited her youthful looks to a strict skincare routine. According to the former model, she was frightened by the idea of letting a cosmetic surgeon near her face. "[Other women] had something done and then their lives were destroyed because of that," Melania said.

Of course, years later the spotlight on Melania only brightened when her husband was elected as the president in 2016. Leading up to the election, a former roommate of Melania's, Matthew Atanian, claimed she had breast implants. The Slovenian-born model once again denied those claims. "I didn't make any changes," she told GQ in April 2016. "I'm against Botox, I'm against injections," Melania reiterated. The fact that Melania looked completely different in throwback pics had people second guessing her claims.

A photo from early in Melania Trump's modeling career surfaced in 2017, and many people compared the throwback snap to her appearance at the time as evidence that she had plastic surgery at some point. Multiple plastic surgeons examined the before-and-after pics and came to the conclusion that the then-first lady had altered her face. "Melania's forehead is as smooth as a baby's rear end, so she's had liberal amounts of Botox for sure," Dr. Franklin Rose told Life & Style in June 2017. Another doctor believed Melania had more than just injections. "Comparing the earlier photo when she is younger and the later life pictures one can see that the nasal shape has changed," Dr. Jag Chana told the outlet.

The following year more possible evidence arose that Melania had work done. In May 2018 she had disappeared from the public eye, and several prognosticators believed it was for a cosmetic touch up. "Like, it seems SUPER obvious she had some plastic surgery and can't show her face again until it's healed," an X user wrote at the time. The White House released an official statement on the then-first lady's condition. They said Melania had a procedure performed to treat a benign kidney condition which led to her staying in the hospital for five days, per The Cut. Despite the official statement, rumors continued to swirl that she had plastic surgery. Later, a source that was once close to the Trump family claimed Melania showed interest in cosmetic surgery.

Donald Trump put MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski in his crosshairs in January 2017 when he blasted her on X for undergoing plastic surgery. "[Brzezinski came] to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!" the then-president tweeted. Later, Brzezinski spoke about that evening when she visited the Trumps only days after having surgery to reduce wrinkles. According to Brzezinski, she shared some one-on-one time with Melania Trump. "Melania was very curious about (the procedure)," Brzezinski said while appearing on "The New Abnormal" podcast in April 2021 (via Mercury News). She added that Melania's questioning was followed by an awkward exchange with Donald. "You know Melania's had no work done. She's perfect," Brzezinski claimed Donald said at the time.

The supposed conversation with Brzezinski took place weeks before Donald's inauguration. Leading up to that momentous event, Melania's makeup artist Nicole Bryl spoke about how the then-first lady achieved her youthful appearance. Even though Melania was completely done with her modeling career, she still made painstaking efforts to look her best. Bryl said her makeup routine for Melania before big events took around 75 minutes. "If you want the look to be flawless and have it last [throughout the day], you do have to take a little extra time to make that happen," the makeup artist told Us Weekly in January 2017. Apparently, if you ask Melania and her team, the official story is that skincare and makeup is how she achieved her look. Will that stop the rumors? Probably not.