Whenever Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump step out together, a few questions come to mind. Why is Donald Trump orange? Do they actually like each other? And what is their age gap?
A former model from Slovenia, Melania is distinctly more chic than her husband, who she has been married to since 2005, prompting many observers to wonder how old she is. Melania is 55 years old whereas Trump is 79 years old, meaning they have a relationship age gap of 24 years.
This is hardly surprising given that Trump's previous wife Marla Maples was also significantly younger than him. They were married between 1993 and 1999 and have one daughter together, Tiffany Trump, and Maples is currently 61 years old which means they had an age gap of 18 years.
However, Trump's first wife Ivana Trump died in 2022 when she was 73 years old, meaning she was only three years younger than Trump. They had three children together, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
Trump and Melania also have one child together, Barron Trump, famed for his 6ft 9 stature and for being a rising force in Trump's dynasty. It's likely that Barron's height comes from both his parents as Melania is 5ft 11 and Trump is 6ft 3. However, he is easily the tallest of Trump's five children.
Trump and Melania met in 1998 while she was working as a model in Manhattan. The couple were introduced by Paolo Zampolli, who was the head of a modelling agency at the time. Apparently, when Trump asked Melania for her phone number she refused, instead asking him to give her his.
This power play is perhaps what has kept them together for 20 years. Whenever divorce rumours surface – and they reached fever pitch last summer during Trump's presidential campaign trail as Melania was noticeably absent and then released a memoir where she denounced his policies on abortion – they seem to overcome them. There must be perks to being the First Lady after all.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).