Following a Tuesday court ruling that former President Donald Trump, 77, committed fraud, it was reported that his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, 53, has been “quietly” negotiating their pre-nuptial agreement.
According to anonymous sources cited by Page Six, this is the third time Melania has renegotiated their agreement since the pair married in 2005. Washington Post writer Mary Jordan wrote in “The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump” that some of these negotiations took place in 2017, after Trump won the 2016 presidential election.
“Melania is most concerned about maintaining and increasing a substantial trust for their son, Barron,” a source told Page Six. Barron, 17, is the youngest of Trump’s five children. Trump is also father to Ivanka, 41; Donald Jr., 45; and Eric, 39 with his first wife, the late Ivana Trump, as well as Tiffany, 29, with his ex-wife Marla Maples.
Although Melania reportedly renegotiated the pre-nuptial agreement, sources told Page Six that it doesn’t mean she plans to leave the current 2024 GOP presidential candidate frontrunner. Prenuptial agreements establish financial rights and responsibilities in the case of divorce or death. Page Six’s source said the new agreement “provides for Melania, and spans money and property.”
“I know that she wanted it to provide her with more money, and also – from what I understand – there’s a specific amount at minimum that Barron is supposed to obtain,” said another source. According to the first source, part of the reason for the new negotiations is Trump’s ongoing legal battles.
According to the Tuesday ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron in New York said that Trump inflated the value of his assets. He authorized state Attorney General Letitia James to cancel certificates for companies that hold those assets, and he could seek an order as well barring him and his companies from continuing to conduct business in New York.
That’s just one of the legal challenges the former president is facing. He was indicted four times this year, and faces 91 charges. Experts believe that some of these charges could prevent him from appearing on the 2024 ballot, or even result in prison time.
Trump was also found liable in May for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll and a Manhattan jury ordered him to pay her $5 million in damages. A separate defamation trial regarding Carroll is set to start next year.
A Thursday report in Business Insider cited two lawyers who said that renegotiating the prenuptial agreement is a good move for the former first lady.
“This agreement was necessary because of the current legal battles … [Donald] has suffered,” said the Page Six sources, though they also said “Trump remains very rich.”
“Reps for the Trumps did not reply to Page Six’s request for comment,” said the outlet. Insider said it was unable to independently confirm the report, and added that “representatives for Donald Trump and several acquaintances of Melania Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.”
Melania has also been the subject of conspiracy theories since her husband took office. These claims – that she was being replaced by a body double for public appearances – grew so strong in 2020 that USA Today published a Fact Check report.
Earlier this year, Audacy reported on people’s concerns about where Melania was, as she has kept a low profile since accompanying Trump at his campaign launch event. This summer, Fox News host John Roberts apologized after erroneously identifying a woman in attendance at Trump’s federal indictment in Miami, Fla., as Melania, The Independent reported.