I hope to show you the woman behind the public persona," Melania Trump trills in the opening pages of her memoir. Quite the promise, given that she has made herself scarce during her husband's presidential campaign. This is a book about her "truth", which is very selective indeed. Her mask rarely slips. As a young ingenue, Melania was cheated out of her prize money after winning a modelling competition. This taught her a lesson "more valuable than any material reward", she writes.
"Dishonesty has no place in my life, and it never will." Surely she is trolling us. But no, she sincerely believes the Mrs Merton principlewhat attracted you to the billionaire property developer who famously fibs and stiffs small contractors?-played no role in her decision to become the third Mrs Trump. Her memoir is crammed with these contradictions.
Melania's origin story is of a life filled with small luxuries in Slovenia, a relatively prosperous Alpine outpost of the former Yugoslavia. Flipping through the photographs, I couldn't help thinking that what also attracted her to Trump was his extraordinary resemblance to her podgy, bouffant-haired, businessman father. Viktor Knavs owned a fleet of cars, including Ford Mustangs, BMWs and Mercedes - and to Melania's fury was falsely accused of corruption during General Tito's reign. For a more reflective person, there is much to psychoanalyse here.
Viktor used to video Melania from birth, preparing her for a life in the public eye, while her beloved mother, Amalija, was a patternmaker and tailor.
The Pemberley moment
This story is from the October 24, 2024 edition of The London Standard.
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This story is from the October 24, 2024 edition of The London Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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