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Melania Reportedly Warned Vanessa About What Trump Men Are Really Like

by Jessicah Lahitou
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Melania Trump's marriage to the president has hardly been without challenges. Still, Melania herself has been relentlessly positive, or at least neutral, in public comments about her relationship with Trump. A new report claims Melania warned Vanessa Trump in private about "the Trump men," however.

The claim came in an article published Wednesday in Us Weekly. An unnamed source related the alleged conversation between Melania and her daughter-in-law, who is married to Donald Trump, Jr., but in the process of getting a divorce. According to that "insider," Melania described "the Trump men" in less than glowing terms when talking to Vanessa while she was considering whether or not to divorce Trump Jr.

"The Trump men are one and the same — vain and ­power-hungry," was how the source quoted Melania. Us Weekly goes on to claim Melania also told Vanessa that "offering her husband an ultimatum would be a huge mistake because he would choose his thirst for power like his dad." Bustle has reached out to Melania Trump's spokeswoman for comment.

If true, these quotes indicate Melania might hold a very different private view of her husband than the one she voices publicly. In just some of her media comments about Trump, Melania called him a "leader" on Fox News in 2016, and told MSNBC host Joe Scarborough that she and Trump have an "amazing" relationship.

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During the 2016 election, Melania was enthusiastically supportive of Trump. While she didn't appear often with Trump on the campaign trail, Melania explained her choice to Barbara Walters on 20/20. "We have a 9-year-old son together, Barron, and I’m raising him,” Melania said, going on to add, "this is the age he needs a parent at home."

And in what is almost certainly the most critical moment of Trump's campaign, Melania stood by her husband. After previously undisclosed audio recording of Trump bragging he could "grab 'em [women] by the pussy" hit the news in October of 2016, Melania sat down for a one-on-one interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

During that interview, Melania told Cooper that while she was disappointed in Trump's words, she was "not surprised that the tape came out." She went on to speculate that the media had held it, released it three weeks before the election, and then covered it extensively "because they want to influence the American people how to vote, and they are influencing in the wrong way."

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The Us Weekly article also suggests that, in addition to her perhaps different private opinion of Trump, Melania's also been having a harder time lately than many people are aware of. Dwock cites a "pal" who told the magazine, "It’s not an easy time for her.” Reportedly the "drama" of Vanessa's split with Trump Jr. has been tough on Melania.

Of course, there's been plenty of other "drama" for the first lady to confront as well. Details of the alleged affair between Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels have created a constant media drip of stories for months now. As the Wall Street Journal reports, Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted in February that he had paid the actress $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election, but refused to say why. Daniels alleges it was hush money to keep her quiet about the affair during and after Trump's presidential campaign. Given the scandal's currently unresolved status, the story will likely remain a media staple for the foreseeable future.

If Melania really did warn Vanessa not to try and change a Trump man, then it seems that advice did not go unheeded. Vanessa filed for divorce in March. Whatever Melania may or may not have said in private, there's no public evidence she plans to follow suit.