Inside Melania and Donald Trump's odd marriage from scandalous first meeting to separate bedrooms

Melania Trump has stood by husband Donald despite numerous scandals that have dogged him before, during and after their time in the White House - although the couple are said to disagree on politics

Donald Trump will return to the White House with wife Melania following a stunning landslide election victory - but their rocky marriage has surprised many over its nearly two decades.

The 54-year-old former model faced increased scrutiny throughout her husband's 2016 presidential campaign, his four years as Commander in Chief (from 2017 to 2021), and the numerous scandals that dogged him after he departed the White House. There will only be more attention on her as she returns to her post as First Lady next year.

However Melania has steadfastly remained by his side and has admitted that, despite her loyalty, she and the contentious politician don't always agree on everything - except on sleeping in different bedrooms.

According to Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, the couple slept in separate rooms at the White House - the first couple to do so since John and Jackie Kennedy. Trump also has a bizarre night time ritual, Wolff said - the president reportedly demanded a key to his bedroom, locking his wife and the secret service out so he could scoff cheeseburgers while watching three different televisions at once.

Wolff also claims Trump likes to head beneath the duvet at 6.30pm. It is believed the former president prefers McDonalds and other fast food joints because he lives in fear of being poisoned. As fast food is already prepared he suspects it is a safer food source than other choices.

Their relationship has also surprised many including the late Queen. According to claims in Craig Brown's book 'A Voyage Around The Queen'', weeks after one of Mr Trump's visits, she spoke about Trump during a lunch. The book claimed the Queen believed Mr Trump "must have some sort of arrangement" with his wife Melania as she mused over their relationship. The book also claims she is said to have "particularly disliked" the way he kept looking over her shoulder as if '"in search of others more interesting".

"A few weeks after President Trump's visit, for instance, she confided in one lunch guest that she found him "very rude", the book claimed. "She particularly disliked the way he couldn't stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting. She also believed President Trump "must have some sort of arrangement" with his wife Melania, or else why would she have remained married to him? For his part, Donald Trump was confident he had been her favourite guest ever."

The couple - who have been married since 2005 and share one son, 18-year-old Barron, had an odd first meeting. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar in January 2016, Melania admitted Trump approached her for her number despite being on a date with another woman. She revealed: "He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so, of course I didn't give it to him...I told you that I would call you, but I'm not giving you my number. Give it to me."

A few days later, Melania called her future husband and expressed her amazement at his "sense of vitality" and "energy." The real estate tycoon was divorced from Marla Maples, his ex-wife, at the time. Soon after they first met, the couple started dating, and in April 2004, Donald proposed during the Met Gala. "That came as a huge surprise. At the time, Melania stated to the New York Post, "We are very happy together."

The following January, the couple got married at the Mar-a-Lago resort owned by the Apprentice alum. Melania called the marriage "fantastic" when she and Donald made a joint appearance on Larry King Live in May 2005. Madeleine Westerhout - who worked as Trump’s executive assistant from 2017 to 2019 - also revealed details about their marriage during a tearful testimony after Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Describing the “special relationship”, the former assistant revealed that Melania wore the trousers. She said: “He was my boss but she was definitely the one in charge I remember thinking their relationship was really special.”

Westerhout also revealed that, during his time as president, Trump would call his wife from the Oval Office and ask her to look down from her window in the White House residence. She said: “I could figure out he was on the phone with Mrs Trump. He would say, ‘Honey, come over to the window’. He would say, ‘Come to the window’ and (they would) wave to each other.”