Who are Melania Trump’s parents – and just how close are they? Donald Trump’s wife skipped Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties, and campaign trail events, to visit her ‘very ill’ mother Amalija Knavs
- The former first lady is ‘devoted’ to ‘her entire family’ and appears close to her parents – as is her son Barron Trump, who speaks Slovenian and lived with his grandparents and mum at Trump Tower
- Melania’s parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, naturalised as US citizens in 2018 – at a time when Trump was working to repeal the very immigration law that enabled them to gain citizenship
Recently, however, revelations regarding her disappearance have come to light. At his New Year’s Eve event at Mar-a-Lago, Donald himself stated that Melania’s mother Amalija, 78, has been unwell, so the former first lady chose to be by her mother’s side.
So what’s Melania’s relationship with her parents like? We took a look at their family connection – and at the background of this immigrant couple who have stood by their daughter’s side through the years.
Melania Trump’s Christmas and New Year’s absences, deciphered
Melania, 53, was noticeably absent from the Trump family Christmas photo at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and the New Year’s Eve party at the same venue. Per Fox News, the former first lady has been spending time with her sick mum. The publication quoted a source as saying: “Melania has always been very devoted to her entire family. It should be no surprise that she spent this Christmas with her ailing mother.”
In footage published on social media from the Trump New Year’s Eve celebrations, the former US president told partygoers that Amalija was “very ill” and was in a “great hospital” where “hopefully she will be recovering”.
What is Melania Trump’s family background?
Per Town & Country magazine, Melania’s father, Viktor Knavs, 79, was working as a chauffeur in his native Slovenia when he met Amalija, a patternmaker at a children’s clothing factory.
The couple have two daughters, Ines and Melania. The sisters changed their surname from Knavs to its German form, Knauss.