Throughout history, Americans look to First Ladies as revered, respectable and incredibly interesting women. We wonder what their lives were like before their husbands accepted the most powerful position in the world and we wonder about their lifestyles while they lived in the White House. The First Ladies were all held to a very high standard but they have their own secrets and scandals. Check out what these First Ladies did to make them scandalous.
Technically, Harriet Lane wasn’t a First Lady but her uncle, President John Buchanan, never wed so Lane fulfilled the duties of a First Lady throughout Buchanan’s presidency. By the time she was 11 years old, she was orphaned and requested to be put under the guradianship of her “favorite uncle,” James Buchanan. Buchanan is the only unmarried man ever to serve as president and according to National First Ladies Library, Lane was the first woman to be given the title of “First Lady” because she was his niece and people didn’t really know how to address her. She held the title from 1857 to 1861.
My Uncle, the President, is Gay
Why didn’t Buchanan ever get married? He lived in a time when marriage was not just expected of him, it was almost a requirement. But he was perfectly happy living with William Rufus King, who was called “Miss Nancy” by Andrew Jackson. It is possible their live-in relationship was strictly platonic but looking back, it’s pretty unlikely, and it is safe to assume that Lane knew all about her uncle’s relationship back then. Although many people knew that Harriet was Buchanan’s niece, she was still revered as one of the most popular and fashionable First Ladies of the White House.
Eleanor Roosevelt was an iconic first lady (1933-1945) for more reasons than one. After being hurt by her husband’s infidelity (and before he contracted polio), she had a secret affair with a female journalist named Lorena Hickok. Roosevelt met Hickok after the latter was assigned to interview the former in 1928 by the Associated Press. Four years later, Hickok convinced her editors to allow her to cover Eleanor during her husband’s presidential campaign. She felt overwhelmed by the impending responsibility of assuming the duties of occupying the White House and didn’t know what to do so she sought out some understanding.
How it All Started
With the pressure building, Eleanor felt alone and worried about what she would be facing. She looked for someone to help curb her fears but instead of turning to the most likely confidant, her husband FDR, she turned to female reporters covering his 1932 campaign. These reporters became close friends and that is how Eleanor became close with Hickok. In 1932, Eleanor invited Hickok to accompany her to a funeral. Their long lasting friendship was sparked during the long train ride en route to the funeral. By the time FDR was inaugurated in 1933, Hickok was Eleanor’s confidante and closest friend.
A Secret Love
It is speculated that they had a lesbian affair based on the correspondence they shared over the years. It is common knowledge that many presidents had affairs but you may be surprised to learn that Eleanor was no stranger to infidelity. Prior to being the First Lady, she was also rumored to have had an affair with a New York state trooper during her time as governor’s wife. Eleanor must have been pretty bored with her relationship with the president to stray so much! But in regards to her relationship with Lorena Hickok, many people questioned the extent of their relationship. Hickok was reportedly so in love with Eleanor, that her reports were no longer objective.
When Donald Trump became president-elect, we knew it would be a First Family like no other in America’s history. First Lady Melania Trump also contributes to several firsts; not having been born in the country and, of course, posing fully nude in a publication. Fifteen years before she was named the future First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump posed completely naked for GQ Magazine. That is, if you don’t count the handcuffs and fur she wore. While historically, the First Lady is kept under a watchful eye, and steered to be poised, proper, and dignified, we’re not sure what’s to come from Melania.
Melania’s Communist Upbringing
As if the fact that Trump’s First Lady has already bared all to the world weren’t bad enough, there are reports out there that say her own father was a registered communist! She grew up in the 1990s in Novo Mesto, within the Slovenian Republic. Her father, Viktor Knavs, became a registered member of the Communist party and was able to secure jobs for him and his wife. The source to divulged this information added that, “Maybe he was just being pragmatic. Being in the Party made things a bit easier and meant he could help his family.”
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln was raised in a wealthy family so she had gotten accustomed to a certain lifestyle. When she eventually married Abraham Lincoln and became First Lady between 1861 and 1865, her tastes became a requirement. She only wanted the very best things and made sure she got them. Her lavish shopping trips and expensive clothing habits created quite a debt. She reportedly knew that her husband was going to run for president one day and so she had invested interest in a successful election. When she got into the White House, Mary redecorated the entire residence. President Lincoln had to use federal funds to support her tastes. She rationalized the remodel as a necessary matter to demand respect as the First Family.
But talk about political scandal! She pressured the poor populace and the Republican appointees to pay her debts. Her argument? They “owed” President Lincoln for getting them their jobs. Mary also got funds diverted from the welfare of soldiers to the welfare of freed slaves, which was another major political scandal during that time. During Abe’s re-election campaign in 1864, she had run up thousands of dollars in debt while shopping at department stores. She knew that if Abraham won, she could sit on the debt and hope he wouldn’t discover it. But if he lost, the couple would have to deal with the money problems like regular citizens and she would have to tell him how much she spent.
Selling White House Manure for Cash
Mary already knew how Abraham would react to her spending habits. When he learned about her previous debt, he was fuming! Overspending the congressional appropriation for White House furnishings within months of moving into the mansion was unheard of. So, instead of being honest about her spending problem, Mary resorted to more creative tactics. First, she fired some of the White House staff. Then she decided to sell off excess manure purchased for the fertilization of the grounds. Talk about a time of desperation! Perhaps Lincoln should have done something about Mary’s incredible spending problem before he entered the Oval Office.
After the assassination attempt on her husband in 1981, Nancy began consulting astrologers for guidance. She considered astrology to be a crucial tool to determine the best dates and locations for her husband’s appearances to ensure he was safe and out of harm’s way. She quickly became a very well-known first lady and political figure who was fond of astrology. This was her way of feeling like she could protect her husband and plan ahead.
The Astrology Devotee
Any events, locations or dates that had unfavorable astrological readings inevitably led to cancellations. Nancy Reagan almost entirely dictated her husband’s schedule, as even the most important meetings required the astrologer’s input. If it took planning farther ahead with foreign heads of state, it had to be done only when traveling and safe times were noted as favorable. Consulting the astrologer became the only way she felt comfortable with the president’s comings and goings. So who did Mrs. Reagan turn to during her times of uncertainty? Click on to find out and to see how America reacted to the revelation.
“Astrologer Runs The White House”
That’s what a headline on The New York Post read after the public found out that Nancy Reagan was using an astrologer to plan events in the wake of the assassination attempt on her husband. The astrologer was Joan Quigley, who “said that over the next seven years, she issued guidance, for pay, that went far beyond mundane scheduling to matters of diplomacy, Cold War politics and even the timing of the president’s cancer surgery,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Although Nancy made payments to Quigley through a third party to keep the relationship secret, after word got out, she was ultimately embarrassed and mocked. Nancy Reagan wasn’t the only First Lady to consult an astrologer, however, as you will see later on.
Edith always held an important presence within the White House during her time as First Lady between 1915 and 1921. She would regularly sit in on Oval Office meetings and screen the president’s visitors. In 1919 when President Wilson suffered a stroke, her role only expanded. After his stroke, Edith fought to keep the Wilson administration intact. She did not want Vice President Thomas Marshall taking control of the oval office. As a result, she was the first First Lady to assume a position with presidential power, since she de facto ran the executive branch due to her overprotectiveness over her husband.
In Defiance of Moral Conventions
What happened in the White House after the president’s stroke was unprecedented. No one, not even the vice president, was allowed access to the president – and this was per Edith’s orders. The president was convalescent and the whole world had to take Edith Wilson’s word for it. Many historians believe that Edith was essentially the acting commander-in-chief for the remainder of his presidency. According to Wikipedia, Edith justified her role, saying “I studied every paper sent from the different Secretaries or Senators and tried to digest and present in tabloid form the things that, despite my vigilance, had to fo to the President. I, myself, never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs.”
Florence Harding was First Lady to President Warren Harding from 1921 to 1923. Before her marriage to Harding, she was an unwed mother. She had eloped with a man named Henry DeWolfe when she was just 19 years old and their marriage license was made public in a local newspaper. Shortly after her shotgun wedding, Florence had a child named Marshall Eugene, but she and DeWolfe ended up separating six years later. By the time she married Harding, she was an astrology devotee. It was accurately predicted that he would secure the nomination and that would win Harding the presidency.
Reading the Stars and Multiple Marriages
The astrologer also predicted he would not see his presidency through. Florence’s second marriage was no less scandalous than her first. During her husband’s administration, she was often in the middle of some scandal. In 1905, she was treated for nephritis and was put under the care of Charles E. Sawyer. Florence trusted him greatly, which many people saw as controversial. During her convalescence, Harding took up an affair with one of Florence’s close friends, which led her to think about divorce. She has also been noted as serving whiskey at poker parties at the height of Prohibition – it looks like they were above the law!
In June 1948, Betty Ford announced her marriage to Gerald Ford. This occurred only after he officially secured the GOP congressional nomination. They were married just weeks before Election Day. Ford was not the most natural Republican first lady, and it was said that she was not as “clean cut” as the president would have liked. Ford was concerned that his conservative base would be turned off by his marriage to Betty. She was a divorcee and had experience with modern dance. Betty and Gerald had to postpone their marriage until just before the elections because as The New York Times reported, “Jerry was running for Congress and wasn’t sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer.”
The Less-Than-Conservative Republican
Before her husband was elected president, Betty sought therapy. She openly struggled with dependence on pain medication and alcoholism, becoming the first First Lady to do so. Those issues made her a “less-than-conservative” republican but she ended up capturing the attention of moderates and liberals, which made her husband’s presidency more relatable and noteworthy. As First Lady, The New York Times described her as “a product and symbol of the cultural and political times — doing the Bump dance along the corridors of the White House, donning a mood ring… a housewife who argued passionately for equal rights for women, a mother of four who mused about drugs, abortion and premarital sex aloud and without regret.”
Sharing a Bedroom
While she struggled with her own personal demons, Betty Ford was seen as vulnerable and likable. The Fords were the first executive couple since the Coolidges to openly share a bedroom. While this is expected of married couples, this was a fact that drew shock and awe from around the country. The Fords were viewed as completely unorthodox and progressive. A 1975 interview with McCall’s revealed that Ford was asked about everything, save for how often she and President Ford got intimate in the bedroom, saying that “And if they’d asked me that I would have told them,” with her response being, “As often as possible.”
The very first First Lady even had her brush with scandal in 1759. George Washington might have been America’s first president, but he was not Martha’s first love. Prior to President Washington, Martha had been married to a wealthy Williamsburg plantation heir named Daniel Parke Custis. He was scandalously 20 years older than her. Martha and Daniel’s short marriage was burdened by the antics of Custis’ unreasonable father-in-law, John Custis IV, whom Martha absolutely hated. Daniel died seven years into their brief marriage. Shortly after he died, she paid a not-so-friendly visit to the Williamsburg mansion on the plantation. She had some interesting plans.
The Last Laugh
The Williamsburg mansion had been John’s main residence and housed the remainder of his father’s valuable possessions. She auctioned off everything except for his priceless collection of hand-blown wineglasses. Those she decided to smash in a spectacular act of vengeance. It looks like Martha had the last laugh after all the harassing she endured from her father-in-law. Widowed at the age of 25 after the death of her first husband, Martha became very wealthy and had independent control over a dower inheritance for her lifetime and trustee control over the inheritance of her minor children. In addition to investments and cash, Martha inherited 17,500 acres of land and 300 slaves.
Like some other First Ladies on this list, Dolley Madison was also previously married before meeting former president James Madison. But after losing her first husband and second child to a wave of yellow fever, she was left widowed with only one of her children. After marrying James Madison in 1794, she was expelled from the Society of Friends for marrying outside her faith, as Madison was not a Quaker. Later in life, Dolley’s son would have a terrible spending habit, was self-indulgent, and unproductive, forcing James Madison to pay her son’s debts, even though Dolley and James didn’t have a lot of money themselves.
The First to Party
One thing is certain about Dolley Madison; she knew how to throw a party! From the moment she stepped foot in the White House in 1809, she decided to shake up the stiff, humorless receptions. At Dolley’s parties, people mingled, joked, laughed, and treated themselves to desserts. Her soirees became fun gatherings that people looked forward to. Her events even acted as a time for peacemaking. Dolley once got two congressmen to end their feud over a nasty political disagreement. When President Madison died in 1836, she resumed her role as First Entertainer. She was also granted an honorary seat in Congress – by unanimous vote – and all the upcoming presidents met Dolley to seek her approval.
In 1850, President Taylor passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Supposedly he was out in the sun for too long and reports say he thusly ate something that many believe was poisoned with arsenic. First Lady Margaret was so distraught by his passing that she displayed some troubling behavior. On several occasions, she felt the need to paw away some of the preserving ice from his corpse so that she could see his face. And an even more troubling fact – she also refused to have him embalmed – her needs were met with strange looks that led to serious questions.
Suspected of Murder
Refusing to have a dead man embalmed was such an unorthodox demand that it immediately raised eyebrows. Rumors quickly circulated that Margaret poisoned her husband. They thought that maybe she wanted to prevent anyone from discovering what she did. Finally, in 1991 historians convinced president Taylor’s descendants to exhume his remains so they could extract some genetic material and test this theory; they wanted to finally put the rumors to rest. They determined Taylor was not poisoned. Margaret couldn’t do such a thing anyway, as she loved her husband dearly. While President Taylor was away at war, she prayed for him regularly and swore to God to give up the pleasures of society until he returned home safely.
Julia Dent Grant
Julia Dent Grant became the wife of former president Ulysses S. Grant. Julia a tomboy in her youth and was cross-eyed her entire life. Her cross-eyed condition was called strabismus, which she never had corrected and caused her to pose in profile for all her portraits. These facts seemed like shortcomings but even in her shortcomings, she never stopped pursuing her accomplished equestrienne hobby. Not even Ulysses could be deterred from her condition. Although she only considered surgery once her husband became president, she never went through with it. This, unfortunately, did lead to some embarrassing moments at events at the White House as a very public figure.
Walking like a Crab
Julia was First Lady from 1869 – 1877. First Ladies were expected to throw lavish galas, but at her events, Julia had a habit of standing in the corner. While this seemed like an anti-social problem, she was just avoiding bumping into people because it was hard for her to see clearly. When she did manage to move, she would move sideways. Her sideways movement was compared to that of a crab and she became somewhat of a joke. Still, Ulysses loved Julia saying, “Did I not see you and fall in love with you with these same eyes? I like them just as they are, and now, remember, you are not to interfere with them. They are mine, and let me tell you, Mrs. Grant, you had better not make any experiments, as I might not like you half so well with any other eyes.”
Grace Coolidge became a respectable woman in her own right before marrying future president Calvin Coolidge. She graduated from the University of Vermont, becoming the first First Lady with a four-year undergraduate degree. Grace met Calvin in 1903 and married him nearly two years later. Calvin and Grace Coolidge didn’t have one of the more romantic marriages on White House record but where they lacked in romance they made up for in sense of humor. When the couple visited a chicken farm in Maryland, the First Lady witnessed a rooster copulating with a hen. She decided this was the perfect opportunity to play a joke on the president.
Making Fun of the President’s Libido
The farmer told Grace that the rooster “performed” this way several times a day. She insisted that he tell that to the president and when the farmer did, the president asked if the rooster limited his prowess to the same hen. The red-faced farmer told him that the rooster copulated several different hens. The president’s response? “Tell that to Mrs. Coolidge.” Aside from her good-humored marriage to Calvin, Grace’s lifelong passion was the education of deaf children. She studied lip reading at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech, where she later became a teacher. Not only was Grace the First Lady of the U.S., she was also Second Lady as well.
Lou Henry Hoover
Lou Henry Hoover was the wife of former president Herbert Hoover, whom she met at Stanford University, where she graduated with a degree in Geology. First Lady Lou Hoover was not like other First Ladies; she wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Her father often took her on camping trips as a teen, which is when she hunted, preserved specimens with the skill of a taxidermist, and developed an enthusiasm for rocks and mining. After marrying Herbert Hoover, they traveled to Shanghai, China together where Hoover’s job required extensive travel throughout the country. There, she learned and became proficient at Chinese, becoming the first First Lady to speak an Asian language.
Showing No Fear
Lou decided to join the action in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. She would deliver tea and other supplies to troops by bicycle. During one trip, a stray bullet flattened her tire. Their home in China was not safe by any means. One day, while she was playing solitaire, a shell burst through the window! After people rushed to check on her, and they saw that she was OK, they noticed the blast nearly blew the staircase apart. After the incident, her obituary appeared in a Peking newspaper. Upon reading it, she was happy to see that the editors had written three whole columns just for her – even if she wasn’t really dead.
Bess Truman was the wife of 33rd president Harry Truman, who she knew since she was a child. They married in 1919 after Truman fought in WWI. Bess Truman knew that she would have to move into the White House if her husband was elected president but she was not emotionally prepared for when it actually happened. When she learned that Truman won the election, she broke down into tears at the thought of being First Lady. Anything that kept Bess away from her home in Independence, Missouri caused her heartache. Becoming First Lady was something she was vehemently against.
The Quest for Clean Clothes
In 1903, after dealing with overwhelming drinking and debt issues, her father committed suicide. After his tragic death, she felt she had to stay close to her family. No matter how hard she tried, Bess never got used to life in Washington. She even preferred the laundromats back home. Soon after moving to D.C., she insisted on having her dirty laundry mailed to a Kansas City laundromat. There’s nothing like home sweet home. She was so against being in Washington, that after the press urged her to hold a press conference with prewritten questions, her responses were either monosyllabic or “no comment.”
Rachel Jackson’s Romantic History Questioned
Before she was married to Andrew Jackson, Rachel married Lewis Robards when she was 18 years old. Their marriage wasn’t very strong, and Robards claimed that after some time away from their home, he returned to find Rachel flirting and in a close relationship with Andrew Jackson, who was a circuit lawyer at the time. Rachel claimed that Robards physically abused her, hence the reason that she sought divorce. However, Rachel Jackson never actually served as First Lady, since she died of an assumed heart attack days after Andrew Jackson was elected and before he was inaugurated. As a result, Rachel’s niece, Emily Donelson, served as First Lady.
Rachel and Andrew Jackson Illegally Eloped
What is now downplayed in history is the fact that Rachel and Andrew Jackson eloped while she was still married to her first husband, Lewis Robards! Robards immediately and successfully sought divorce. Meanwhile, the validity of Rachel and Jackson’s marriage was questioned, since it was illegal, as she was married to her first husband when they eloped. Having a First Lady who had a previous marriage was unprecedented in American history at the time, in the late 1780s, it was labeled inappropriate for a First Lady to have had a divorce in her romantic history. Therefore it was thought that Rachel may not be suited for the role. When Rachel and Andrew Jackson were married and she was officially First Lady, the public made them so uncomfortable that they rarely appeared in public together.
People recognize Barbara Bush for her gray hair and it became her trademark. She got her gray hair at a very early age due to some horrible emotional trauma. The Bushes’ first daughter, Robin, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1953. After spending eight months in the hospital, with her parents by her side, the little girl succumbed to the disease. Before she became the First Lady, she was Second Lady, but it was then that she took an interest in literacy issues. After her son Neil was diagnosed with dyslexia, she began to work with different literacy organizations to further her cause.
By the time Robin passed away, Barbara’s hair was completely gray. After some time, the former first lady developed a great sense of humor about her appearance. She was a master of self-deprecating humor, she once said of Nancy Reagan that they had a lot in common: “She adores her husband; I adore mine. She fights drugs; I fight illiteracy. She wears a size three —so’s my leg.” In an April 2017 episode of the Today Show, on which Jenna Bush Hager served as a co-host, the younger Bush granddaughter accidentally revealed that her granny Barbara only has four toes on each foot! After apologizing to her granny for the slip on live TV, she explained it was due to old age.
Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis) is one of the most well-known, universally-loved and revered First Ladies to ever grace the White House. People loved how she held herself in public; her grace under pressure was remarkable and her classic style was emulated by women all over the country. They all wanted to be like Jackie. If there’s one thing that she was known for during her stay at the White House as First Lady, it is her highly publicized restoration of the White House interior. Focusing on arts and culture to modernize her new home, it really is her style that got her into some trouble.
During John F. Kennedy’s presidency, Jackie became a global fashion icon. In the fall of 1960, Oleg Cassini, a fashion designer and family friend, created an original wardrobe for her as First Lady. In 1961, Jackie spent $45,446 more on fashion than the president’s $100,000 annual salary. How else would she become such an iconic fashion symbol? Her most popular ensemble was that of a pink Chanel suit accompanied with a matching pillbox hat. Her outfit became a symbol of JFK’s assassination. In 1965, she was named to the International Best Dresses List Hall of Fame and her clothes have been preserved at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
Another secret from Mrs. Kennedy was that she was a heavy smoker. You would never see any images of her in the act because the staff was told to not take pictures of her smoking or else it would not be published. First ladies didn’t want the public to know she took part in an act that many didn’t approve of so this was a well-kept secret of hers.
“Jackie Kennedy smoked just as much as any other woman did during the era of her husband’s presidency,” wrote Emma Baty. “Cigarettes were thought to make you thinner and calmer, but that doesn’t mean the general public approved of them.”
No Talking, No Problem
First Lady Helen Herron had a stroke and the public had reason to believe things were wrong after that happened to her. Strokes aren’t something you can just back up from the second after in the first place because your brain experiences problems and can lead to more serious damage. Well, Herron had a more serious problem.
“The general public knew something was up with First Lady Nellie Taft when she canceled all her public appearances in the spring of 1909,” wrote Baty. “But they didn’t know she had recently suffered a stroke and couldn’t speak. With the help of her four sisters, she eventually learned how to talk again and continued her first lady duties.”
Prohibition Meant Nothing
Photo by Library Of Congress/Getty Images
Prohibition must have been a tough time for some when it was going on. No more vice for them to run to when things got hard or no more celebratory drinks when success comes around. Florence Harding didn’t care about any of that. She was going to serve up some drinks.
“In a time when alcohol was illegal nationwide, Florence Harding did more than turn a blind eye to this rule,” said Baty. “When President Harding would host friends for poker, they would drink scotch and whiskey out of the president’s private reserves. Florence played bartender, mixed drinks for the gentlemen while her husband called out cocktail orders (although she was never seen drinking the alcohol herself).”
Hillary Wanted Her Friends
Billy Dale was a man who commanded much respect in the White House back in early ’93. He was working setting up presidential trips for the president for 30 years but he instantly became under investigation by the FBI on May 19 thanks to Hilary Clinton. She wanted her friends for that job.
“The moment the Clintons entered the White House, Hillary started spreading rumors that Dale’s department was embezzling,” wrote Morris. “She forced the FBI to investigate and sacked Dale’s entire team then handed the seven newly vacated posts to staffers who had worked on Bill’s presidential campaign.”
The First And Only To Be Subpoenaed
There is a lot of controversy surrounding this woman but this fact is proven and probably what led many others to be so skeptical of her. She was the only first lady in history to be subpoenaed and it has to deal with The Whitewater Controversy.
“It started with a New York Times article in March 1992 that alleged the Clintons had invested and lost money in the Whitewater Development Corporation,” reported What Culture. “An investigation arose from this article, with Bill and Hillary Clinton being the main focus. In May 1994, Independent Counsel Robert Fiske issued a grand jury subpoena to both President Clinton and the First Lady for all their documents relating to the case.”
The Grammy Winner
Photo by KMazur/WireImage
Did any other first lady on this list accomplish this? Or better yet, did you even know she won a Grammy? Clinton won a Grammy in 1996 for Best Spoken Word Album. There have been past presidents who have won this award but never a first lady. It was simply an audio version of her book It Takes A Village. With all of her shady acts, it’s nice to see that she was a success in some other field that many may not be that aware of. Unsurprisingly, she received a near-record advance of some millions to complete some of her books. Does it take that much to write a few books?
Back To Melania
Photo by John Moore/Getty Images
We couldn’t be done with Melania Trump that easily. Something that many may not be aware of is that she almost was not going to be the first lady. That’s right, Donald Trump is on her third wife. In the ’90s, Trump was married to Marla Maples who was a television personality and a former beauty queen. Those two met while Trump was still with his first wife, Ivana Zelnickova.
His first marriage happened in 1977 so Melania beat out 20 years of women before Trump chose to settle down with her.
Her Secret Sibling
DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
This secret came about thanks to GQ. Reporter Julia Ioffe discovered that Melania’s father had a secret son before he married Melania’s mother! His name is Victor Knavs and Knavs agreed to pay child support after the court proved the boy was his (he originally contested that claim).
“Melania initially said the reports were false but later, confronted with court documents, claimed she had misunderstood the question and had known about her half-brother ‘for years’,” The Week reported. She probably was trying to hide the fact that she didn’t come from a perfect home.
Was She An Escort?
Early in 2017, Daily Mail published a double-page spread that claimed Trump was a former escort. We know she posed nude for GQ but the reports were saying that she did more than just model. Trump retaliated promptly by suing them for libel. The double-page spread read, “Racy photos and troubling questions about his wife’s past that could derail Trump.”
Trump filed a libel claim asking for millions in damage. Daily Mail retracted what they published and issued an apology on their website. We have to wonder if these allegations were true even though it was retracted.
Working Without Her Correct Papers
According to the Associated Press, Trump could have been working in America without the right papers when she started modeling in 1996. “Melania Trump was paid for 10 modeling jobs in the United States worth $20,056 that occurred in the seven weeks before she had legal permission to work in the country, according to detailed accounting ledgers, contracts and related documents from 20 years ago provided to The Associated Press,” wrote Jake Pearson and Chad Day. This meant she went out the bounds of her visa. The president wants to get rid of immigrants but doesn’t talk about this.