What Will Melania Trump Do After Leaving The White House?

Now that Joe Biden has won the 2020 presidential election, things are in flux at the White House. While President Donald Trump has yet to concede the election, most of the world is already looking at how things will change after Biden's inauguration in January. Among the many questions people have is what Melania Trump will do after her husband is no longer president.

Melania reportedly didn't want to be the first lady, so there's speculation that Trump's loss may have come as something of a relief. "Melania was in tears – and not of joy," wrote Michael Wolff of her reaction to Trump's 2016 win in Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (via the Daily Mail). While the White House denied the claims at the time, the fact that Melania delayed moving to Washington D.C., not moving into the White House until months after her husband's inauguration, waiting until her son, Barron, finished his school year, only contributed to the rumors that Melania was not entirely on board with Trump's political career.

Former White House official Omarosa Manigault claims that Melania has big plans after her tenure as first lady is complete. "Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce," she told the Daily Mail. "If Melania were to try to pull the ultimate humiliation and leave while he's in office, he would find a way to punish her."

The public has long speculated that Melania is unhappy in her marriage. She and Trump reportedly sleep in separate bedrooms, and is in what her former friend and aide Stephanie Wolkoff called "a transactional marriage."

While Melania hasn't announced what her future plans are, it's not far-fetched to believe that she will leave her husband, although The Independent noted that whether or not she files for divorce may hinge on the terms of her prenuptial agreement. Alternatively, she could simply quietly return to civilian life. "I assume Mrs. Trump will go back to Florida – or maybe she will be able to convince her husband to return to New York as their official residence – and continue the kind of life she led before the White House," first lady historian Katherine Jellison told USA Today.

A source told Naughty But Nice podcast host Rob Shuter that Melania is looking forward to life outside the political limelight. "For the past four years Melania has missed her life in New York," they said (via OK! magazine). "She loves the city and the lifestyle she used to have and cannot wait to get it back at Trump Tower. She basically put her life on hold to be with her husband in D.C. She never wanted any of this." The insider added that Melania also wants things to go back to normal for her son, Barron. "Even people that don't like this first lady will admit that she is a great mom," they said. "Barron will be her focus post-White House. Currently he is remote learning from home with his school in Potomac due to the pandemic, but Melania is looking into new schools right now."

Trump has spent the days following the election contesting the results and alleging voter fraud. "We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don't want the truth to be exposed," he said in a statement (via ABC News). "The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media."

Melania's first comments after Trump's election loss seemingly supported her husband's belief that the election was stolen from him. "The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal – not illegal – vote should be counted," she tweeted. "We must protect our democracy with complete transparency."

Yet behind closed doors, there may be a different story. Multiple outlets have reported that Melania is among the people urging Trump to concede the election. A source told CNN that the first lady has encouraged the president to accept his loss gracefully, while ABC News chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl said on This Week with George Stephanopoulos that Trump's inner circle is "fully aware that this is over" (via Twitter). "There have been conversations, conversations that I am told include the first lady about how to convince him to make a graceful exit," said Karl.