The Biggest Melania Trump Rumors, Debunked

Rumors and gossip are part and parcel of life in the D.C. spotlight, but Melania Trump appears to have been subjected to more than her fair share since Donald Trump threw his hat into the presidential ring. Before becoming a political spouse, she managed to fly pretty much under the radar, aside from appearing in the society pages and occasionally cropping up on Page Six.

Melania resided in a gilded Manhattan penthouse, cared for her son, Barron Trump, and enjoyed life as a lady who lunches. However, everything changed when Donald announced he was running for president in June 2015. Suddenly, Melania lived in a fishbowl, with the world watching and analyzing her every move. Things became even worse after she moved into the White House. Reports that Donald and Melania's marriage might be on the rocks hogged the headlines, and sources crawled out of the woodwork to weigh in.

Meanwhile, experts analyzed Donald and Melania's telling body language moments, and there were plenty of them to work with. The couple rarely, if ever, shows any signs of affection, and if he does attempt to reach out, she inevitably rebuffs his advances. This only adds to people questioning the reasons why Melania and Donald stay together, opening up a whole can of conjecture worms. From a steamy Canadian love affair to alleged espionage to employing a body double, we're debunking some of the biggest Melania rumors.

One of the biggest Melania Trump rumors is that she's a Russian spy. Supposed evidence stems from her father Viktor Knavs' Communist Party membership, and her apparent coziness with Russia's head honcho. "Russian President Vladimir Putin was pictured chatting up First Lady Melania Trump as world leaders gathered for a banquet at the G20 summit in Hamburg," the Daily News reported in July 2017.

"Plot Twist: Melania Trump is a Russian spy working closely reporting back to Vladimir Putin," a commenter on X, formerly Twitter, declared in March 2018. "Melania Trump is a red sparrow, a spy, placed in Trump's beauty pageant for Trump to find. She has become more valuable than ever expected! She f***s Trump for the allegiance she has known since a teenager. Check out her all red Christmas trees at the White House, an acknowledgement," another charged in March 2023.

However, in reality, the evidence is non-existent. Despite beliefs to the contrary, communism isn't a singular united ideology. Yugoslavia broke ties with the Soviet Union in 1948 and carved its own way. So, to claim Viktor was in bed with Russia simply because of his membership in the Yugoslav Communist Party is a stretch, to say the least. Secondly, aside from the G20 dinner, there is no credible evidence that Melania is close to Putin or has visited Russia. Finally, sometimes a red Christmas tree is just a red Christmas tree.

Since Melania and Donald Trump married in January 2005, haters have wondered what attracted the model to the multi-millionaire. However, one of the reasons is apparently physical, as Donald has movie-star good looks — according to Donald. During a Wisconsin rally in October 2020, he boasted about his genetic blessings, claiming Melania wholeheartedly agrees. "Darling, you're the most handsome president," Donald said she told him.

Detractors question the validity of Melania's attraction, though; they believe she's better suited to another politician who's actually handsome. Cue one of the biggest rumors to haunt Melania: she's having an affair with Justin Trudeau. There's no doubting the Canadian prime minister's attractiveness; it's led to The Daily Mirror — among other media outlets — asking if he's "The sexiest politician in the world?" Melania appeared to answer that question after a photo surfaced of her seemingly swooning over Trudeau as she went in for a kiss at the August 2019 G7 summit in Biarritz, France.

Find you someone that looks at you the way Melania looks at Justin Trudeau. pic.twitter.com/nOVyIijknE

— M.J. Mouton (@MJ_Mouton) August 25, 2019

The pic immediately went viral, spawning gossip and speculation. However, when you watch a video clip of the incident, it's apparent that in reality the photo was taken out of context. Instead of a steamy smooch, the couple was just air kissing on stage while standing with their spouses. Still, if ever she's feeling a little lonely, Melania can always watch Trudeau's April 2013 striptease video. It's far from "The Full Monty," but it's likely something most would be loathe to watch Donald replicate.

Melania Trump was rumored to have filed for divorce from Donald Trump after he stepped into the White House in January 2017. Speculation was sparked by her remaining in New York with their son, Barron Trump, and not joining him in Washington D.C. until June. However, Melania's spokesperson quickly debunked the gossip, explaining that she stayed in Manhattan so Barron could finish his school year.

Just because Melania didn't file for divorce that didn't mean all was rosy between the couple. Washington Post reporter Mary Jordan claimed in her book, "The Art of Her Deal," that the reason Melania delayed moving into the Executive Mansion was to "amend her financial arrangement with Trump — what Melania referred to as 'taking care of Barron.'"

Meanwhile, divorce rumors were reignited in September 2024 following a supposed Newsweek report posted on X claiming, "Melania Trump e-files for divorce as Trump campaign tanks, sentencing looms." It was just a case of fake news, though, as Newsweek confirmed that it was not one of their stories. The outlet also debunked a post from Florida Department of Health analyst Rebekah Jones. "BREAKING: Melania Trump filed for divorce in Palm Beach County through online e-file system, time stamped today at 5:12 p.m. ET," it read. However, Jones explained to Newsweek that it was an experiment to prove how quickly disinformation can spread on social media.

One of the craziest Melania Trump rumors is that she has a body double. CNN reported that the gossip stemmed from a 2017 post by a Californian hemp syrup seller who compared an old photo of Melania with a new picture of her standing next to Donald Trump and discovered supposed differences that proved the existence of a fake Melania. Not surprisingly, social media seized on the rumor and ran with it.

Apparently, it was fake Melania who attended a 2020 rally where she engaged in uncharacteristically willing PDA with Donald. "For the record, I had Trump kissing a fake Mela ia at a super-spreader rally on my 2020 bingo card," MeidasTouch co-founder Ben Meisalas captioned a video clip of the event. And it was fake Melania posing with Donald on the steps of a helicopter. "Fake hair, Fake tan, Fake wealth, fake Presidency, fake Melania," journalist David Leavitt captioned a photo of the two. Finally, it was fake Melania who greeted visitors at Mar-a-lago.

Fake Melania is trotted out at Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/3zQ316vUqg

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 26, 2024

It was hard not to see the funny side — unless you worked at the White House, where staffers suffered a serious sense of humor failure. "Once again, we find ourselves consumed with a ridiculous non-story when we could be talking about the work the first lady is doing on behalf of children, including the opioid crisis that is gripping our nation," East Wing communications director Stephanie Grisham fumed to CNN.

The last Melania Trump rumor on the debunked list is her supposed first lady battle with Ivanka Trump. In her 2024 book, "American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden," press correspondent Katie Rogers claimed, "Melania would engage in a four-year internal power struggle with her stepdaughter." She wrote that "the two were locked in a quiet competition for press coverage" as they jostled to be the one true first lady. Apparently, Melania waged war for four years, with just an occasional ceasefire to renegotiate her pre- and post-nuptial agreements.

The rumor crumbles, though, when you consider what appeared to be Melania's distinct lack of interest in the role of first lady. She was regularly accused of dialing it in, such as when she seemingly plagiarized one of Michelle Obama's convention speeches at the 2016 RNC. Melania appeared to be more resigned to the role than eager, often looking like she was walking the last mile to the guillotine rather than the halls of the White House.

First lady power struggles aside, there was no love lost between the two women. Melania's former friend and senior advisor, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, claimed in her 2020 book, "Melania And Me," that Melania nicknamed Ivanka "princess" and orchestrated a campaign to keep her out of the spotlight. "The Trump family dynamic was complicated," Wolkoff wrote. "And I didn't pretend to know exactly how it worked."