Melania Trump may not have spent a single night in the White House since her husband returned to power, according to a sensational claim by presidential biographer Michael Wolff.
In the latest edition of his Howl newsletter on Substack, Wolff wrote that the 56-year-old first lady has been living an almost entirely independent life away from the White House since Donald Trump returned to Pennsylvania Avenue nearly 600 days ago.
“By the end of the campaign, when aides were asked about the situation, they were already actively searching for new ways to describe it: ‘She’s going to be more of a part-time first lady,’” Wolff wrote.
According to the biographer, Melania is now “firmly established in New York,” where she runs her own business under the Melania brand. As Wolff notes, the first lady herself previously revealed that her company generated $17 million in net profit last year.
Michael Wolff, author of the bestselling book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, claims that during the 2024 presidential campaign he tried to find out from Trump’s closest advisers why Melania was rarely seen alongside her husband. The answer, he said, was remarkably blunt.
“‘She hates him with all her heart,’ one of Trump’s senior advisers told me,” Wolff recalled.
In Wolff’s view, that helps explain why the relationship between the president and first lady appears the way it does.
Wolff described Melania’s approach to their marital arrangement as a “particular form of Trump-style pretense.”
“You pretend so little and make such limited effort that everyone understands you’re pretending. And therefore, in reality, you’re no longer pretending at all,” he wrote.
According to Wolff, Trump himself also makes little effort to project an image of marital harmony.
In April, on Melania’s birthday, the president posted a flurry of messages on his social media platform Truth Social — yet none of them included a birthday greeting for his wife.
Melania, the author notes, appeared to return the favor in June, when Trump turned 80.
The couple do occasionally appear together at official events. On Aug. 23, 2026, for example, Trump and Melania attended the national anthem ceremony before the start of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the streets of Washington.
Wolff claims that Melania has effectively created a unique model for life as a first lady — staying out of the White House, maintaining significant distance from the president while simultaneously turning the role of first lady into a multimillion-dollar business.
“Melania has managed to achieve what no first lady before her has: not living in the White House — not anywhere near it. Call it whatever you want, but this is a separation, combined with the creation of her own multimillion-dollar business by monetizing the first lady brand,” Wolff wrote.
And in conclusion, the biographer posed what may be the most intriguing question of all:
“Under what terms did she negotiate this deal? And what else has she managed to get?”
Follow NEWS.am STYLE on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
13:28, September 1
54-Year-Old Carmen Electra Serves Up a Risqué “Breakfast” in Berlin, Covering Her Breasts With Pineapple Slices12:30, September 1
ArmenՅԱՆs: Jack Topalian, the Armenian Star of “Euphoria”: How He Traded Business for Acting, “Tortured” Jacob Elordi, and Spoke Armenian in the Hit Series12:12, September 1
“Everyone Is Horrified and Whispering Behind Her Back”: Anna Wintour’s Staff Shocked by Met Gala Fiasco Over John Galliano11:43, September 1
First Lady “Part-Time”: Trump Biographer Claims Melania Is Living a Separate Life in New York11:17, September 1
Bianca Censori Turns Heads Again: Her Red Swimsuit Leaves Little to the Imagination10:33, September 1
The Met Cancels John Galliano Exhibition Amid Controversy10:13, September 1
Duane “Keffe D” Davis Found Guilty of Tupac Shakur’s Murder, Faces Life in Prison23:01, August 31
Forgotten for 90 Years — Then Worth a Fortune: Abandoned Patek Philippe Watch Sells for £59,00022:17, August 31
Billionaires Want to Hear the Engine Roar: Bugatti Chief on the Unexpected Future of Supercars21:26, August 31
The $450 Million “Love Boat”: Billionaire Ambassador Stuns Italy With His Floating Empire20:31, August 31
The World’s Most Expensive Neighborhood: $550 Million Apartments, Formula 1 Stars and Billionaires19:25, August 31
Chanel in All Its Glory: New Necklace Showcases a Rare 20.66-Carat Sri Lankan Sapphire