Melania Trump: where was Donald Trump’s wife, where is she now - what she said about Stormy Daniels affair claims

On Tuesday (4 April), Donald Trump made a historic courtroom appearance when he was presented with a 34-count felony indictment accusing him of engaging in a plot to cover up extramarital affairs claims that surfaced during his first presidential campaign.

Prosecutors publicly accused Donald Trump of criminal behaviour as he watched in silence, paving the way for a potential criminal trial in the city where he first rose to fame decades ago.

The main focus of the indictment is its allegations that Trump falsified internal business records at his private company in an effort to conceal an effort to improperly influence the 2016 election by setting up payments that silenced claims that could have been damaging to his candidacy.

It includes 34 counts of falsifying records in relation to cheques Trump sent to his lawyer and problem-solver to pay him back for his part in compensating a porn actor who claimed she had an extramarital sex with Trump years earlier.

Trump once more defended his innocence as he made his way back to his Florida estate, where he addressed hundreds of supporters during a primetime speech. He claimed on his Truth Social platform that the “hearing was shocking to many in that they had no ‘surprises’, and therefore, no case.”

Kari Lake, a failed candidate for governor of Arizona, and Roger Stone, a longtime ally, were among the Trump supporters that made up the Mar-a-Lago crowd. However, Trump’s wife Melania was not present by his side or spotted with him in New York, so where was she?

Where was Melania?

According to the Mirror, insiders claim that Trump and his wife lead separate lives and only get together occasionally for special dinners at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “Their paths barely cross,” a source said.

“Melania is no different to any woman. Having her husband accused of cheating on her not just once but twice is extremely disturbing,” they added. “There is little wonder people believe it’s not just the criminal court Trump is heading to but possibly a divorce one too.”

According to reports, Melania resides at her husband’s Palm Beach mansion, and is focused on raising Barron, the couple’s 17-year-old son. She had dinner with Trump on Thursday (30 March), when news of her husband’s charge emerged.

The New York Times did not list the former first lady among the group that flew aboard Trump’s private jet from Florida to New York.

The twice-impeached former president’s plane touched down at LaGuardia Airport in Queens before he was driven to his Trump Tower residence, where he spent the night on Monday before making his court appearance in the afternoon of Tuesday 4 April.

According to the newspaper’s Maggie Haberman, the former president travelled with a number of campaign advisers, including his son Eric, campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, longtime communications advisor Jason Miller, former White House aide Dan Scavino, and Boris Epshteyn, who served on the legal team that instigated an unsuccessful lawsuit to invalidate the results of the 2020 election.

What has she said about alleged affairs?

Melania Trump has publicly addressed the allegations of affairs involving her husband and adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal on a few occasions.

In an interview with ABC News in 2018, Melania Trump said that she had “much more important things to think about and to do” than to worry about her husband’s alleged infidelities. She also said that she believed her husband’s denials of the affairs, and that the media was focused on “gossip” instead of “substance.”

In her memoir, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff - a former friend and adviser to Melania - claimed that the former First Lady was not only aware of her husband’s affairs but also used them as leverage in her own negotiations with him. Melania denied these allegations.