Melania Trump Has Dramatically Changed Over The Years

Beautiful. Quiet. Aloof. Mysterious. These are all words that one might use to describe former model turned first lady Melania Trump. But there's much more to President Donald Trump's counterpart than meets the eye — as the woman has blossomed right before our very eyes.

Melania Trump, born Melanija Knavs, grew up in a working-class apartment block in a small industrial town in Slovenia called Sevnica, per The New York Times. Even in such a small town, Melania still had big dreams, and those dreams would eventually take her all the way to the White House. According to a high school classmate of Melania's, "She tried to find opportunities. And took them." Another childhood friend spoke about Melania's larger-than-life personal aspirations to the Associated Press via People: "I think I can say Sevnica was too small for her. Even as a child, she dreamed of moving."

But just how much has the wealthy first lady changed since her humble days in Communist-ruled Slovenia (then Yugoslavia)? Keep reading after the jump to find out.

As a former model, Melania Trump has always cared about fashion. In an interview with Parenting, Melania admitted that she gets her love of fashion from her mother. As it turns out, Melania's mother worked in fashion in her native country, and Melania helped model the clothes from the age of 5. "My mom loved fashion, we loved to travel and go to Italy and Paris. It was something in me always," Melania admitted.

Melania even grew up wearing one of a kind outfits that she commissioned her mother to sew for her. Melania would design the sketches, and her mother would bring the designs to life. She also made her own jewelry. During an interview with GQ, a childhood friend recalled that "Melania never wore anything from the store." 

In later years, Melania channeled that same creativity to launch her own jewelry line with QVC. In the interview with Parenting, Melania was adamant that she was very much involved with the design process."I am the art director and designer. I sketch –– I love to put the pen to paper and start a piece from scratch. I design the things I love. I studied design and architecture and that's what I really like to do. It's a passion of mine. That passion is what brought me to create the jewelry and timepieces." From childhood outfits to jewelry. The world is Melania's oyster!

Melania Trump received much criticism for her days as a lingerie model, once her husband made the decision to throw his hat in the ring for president. One shoot in particular had many fingers wagging: the British GQ shoot she did in January of 2000. Her attire of choice? Her birthday suit. At the time, Melania was only the girlfriend of then-real estate tycoon, Donald Trump. 

But even after becoming the first lady, it doesn't appear Melania has any regrets — in fact, she's proud, as reported by GQ. Once President Donald Trump took office, the White House's official website underwent major changes. For a time, Melania's biography listed her many accomplishments including the shoot with GQ. "She has graced the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, British GQ, Ocean Drive, Avenue, In Style, and New York Magazine," it read. Now that's what we call, "leaning in."

Melania Trump has proven time and time again that she's a tough egg to crack, and her first meeting with her future husband, Donald Trump, was no different. During an interview with GQ, Melania admitted that when the two first met at a party she played hard to get and refused to give the billionaire, who is 24 years her senior, her phone number. But why should she? The story goes that he'd arrived at said party with another date and slyly waited until his date went to the bathroom before he tried to get Melania's digits. 

Instead, Melania employed a test. "If I give him my number, I'm just one of the women he calls," she explained during the interview. "I wanted to see what his intention is," she confessed. "It tells you a lot from the man what kind of number he gives you." Fortunately, the future prez passed Melania's test with flying colors. "He gave me all of his numbers." And the rest is history, we suppose.

In an interview with Parenting, Melania Trump made no bones about it: her son, Barron, is her primary concern. "I am a full time mom; that is my first job. The most important job ever," she declared. 

Melania made good on that statement when she chose to stay behind with their son the majority of the time while her husband was away on the campaign trail. In an interview with ABC's 20/20, Melania doubled down on her decision: "It's my choice not to be there. I support my husband 100 percent, but we have a 9-year-old son together, Barron, and I'm raising him, and this is the age he needs a parent at home."

Even after her husband won the presidential election in 2016 and was later inaugurated, Melania opted to wait until June 2017 before moving into the White House — an unprecedented move for a first lady. Why did she wait so long? In large part, so Barron could finish out his studies at the same school he was attending.