Melania Trump could have given Donald Trump her phone number the night they met. Instead, she refused – because the wealthy businessman had arrived with another woman. What happened next would change both their lives forever

It was 1998, and Melania was building a career as a model after moving from Slovenia to New York. Donald, already a famous businessman, spotted her at a party during New York Fashion Week.

He was immediately interested

“I went crazy. I was actually supposed to meet somebody else,” Donald later told Larry King. “They said, ‘Look, there’s so and so.’ I said, ‘Forget about her. Who is the one on the left?’ And it was Melania.”

But Melania wasn’t impressed by his approach.

“He wanted my number,” she later recalled. “But he was on a date, so of course I didn’t give it to him.”

Instead, she asked him for his number.

“If I give him my number, I’m just one of the women he calls,” she explained.

Donald gave her several numbers, and Melania eventually decided to call him. The two began dating, although their relationship wasn’t always smooth. They briefly split in 2000 before getting back together.

In January 2005, they married in a lavish ceremony in Florida, attended by celebrities and prominent guests. The following year, they welcomed their son, Barron.

For Melania, becoming a mother was central to her life, and she focused on raising Barron while Donald continued building his business and political career.

When Donald became president in 2017, Melania became first lady. She largely kept her private life out of the spotlight, choosing to focus on her son and her own projects.

Their relationship has remained a subject of public fascination, partly because the couple rarely shares much about their private life.

Yet their story began with one small decision: Melania refused to hand her number to a man who was already on a date. Instead, she made him give her his.

And the woman who initially considered Donald Trump “totally out of the question” would go on to marry him, raise a son with him, and become first lady of the United States. Talk about journey!