Donald Trump and his family celebrated the Christmas season at their Mar-a-Lago estate. His sons, daughters, and grandchildren were all present, but there was one person who wasn’t – his wife, Melania Trump, who has only been seen in public once in months. Many thought that Christmas would be the next time.

Sadly, Melania Trump wasn’t there when the family took its traditional Christmas photo, and speculation about what had happened arose. But during an event right after New Year’s Eve, Donald Trump revealed the actual reason, and it’s heartbreaking.

Melania Trump has kept a low profile since leaving the White House with her family. The former first lady has spent plenty of time with her and Donald Trump’s son, Barron Trump, at their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, but this year has undoubtedly been one of the most hectic and tumultuous in a long time.

In March last year, Donald Trump was indicted by a New York court. More indictments against him have followed, and several other lawsuits are ongoing.

Donald Trump is going through a civil court case in New York, which could threaten his entire business empire. He is accused of inflating the value of his properties by over $2 billion to secure favorable loans.

However, the former president denied wrongdoing and called the case a “sham.”

Melania Trump criticized by former aide over outfit

Melania Trump hasn’t spoken out about her husband’s alleged wrongdoings and criminal actions, nor has she been seen with her husband when he appeared in court. She has been seen in New York several times and appeared at a gala dinner with her husband at Mar-a-Lago. Besides that, not much is known about what Melania Trump is doing. However, in late November, she appeared in public.

In November, former president Jimmy Carter’ ‘s wife, Rosalynn Carter, passed away aged 96. Some weeks later, the memorial service was held for the former first lady – and all living former first ladies were in attendance. Melania Trump sat in the front row alongside Jill Biden, Micelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton, all in order of their years in the White House.

However, one detail regarding Melania Trump’s outfit left fans saying she was “disrespectful.”

On social media, several accounts called out Melania Trump for wearing a light grey coat, not a black one.

“Turns out Melania is every bit as disrespectful and lacking in class as her husband,” one person wrote, per Yahoo.

“She used it as a cat walk”

Meanwhile, Melania Trump’s former aide and friend Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who worked with the former first lady during the first years in the White House, lashed out against her choice of clothing.

“Melania Trump knew every time she made a public appearance, ‘a picture would be worth a thousand words.’ In Melania’s case, the picture would have to do all the talking. This time is no different!” Wolkoff wrote on X.

“Melania made this service a photo op for herself, instead of handling her apprarance with dignity and humility, she used it as a cat walk,” she added. “Rosalynn Carter is a national treasure who exemplified a life of humanitarian service with a spirit of generosity, dignity, and compassion for all of God’s children. May she rest in peace.”

However, everyone didn’t agree. Several people defended Melania, jumping to her defense.

“What kind of man worries about how a woman that he has never met is dressed…?” one person stated on X.

Another added, “No, what’s tacky & lacking in class is taking what was supposed to be a day of remembrance for the death of a former First Lady and making the conversation about the color of someone’s clothes. Ridiculous.”

The Trump family is going through a very challenging time. The justice system will decide if he has broken any laws, and time will tell whether it will change their lives.

Melania Trump’s childhood – parents Viktor and Amalija

For Melania, her main focus is to help and support their son, Barron Trump, in what will be his last year at his Florida school before heading to college. When looking back to her own childhood, she has always had the same support of her own parents, Viktor and Amalija, and that support didn’t stop as she became the First Lady of the United States.

But now, some sad news about her mother has come to light.

But first, how did Melania Trump’s early life play out? Melania – born Melania Knauss – was born on April 26, 1970, in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. She grew up in the small railway town of Sevnica.

Her father, Viktor, was a car mechanic and chauffeur, and her mother, Amalija, worked as a pattern-maker at a clothing factory. Amalija had a great passion for design and spent hours and hours making clothes for Melania and her older sister, Ines.

“I grew up with a beautiful family and had a wonderful childhood,” Melania Trump has said. “My mother and father taught us the importance of education, hard work and family.”

Amalija met Viktor in 1966 while he was the driver for a nearby town’s mayor. They fell in love and married.

While Slovenia was part of Communist Yugoslavia, and money was a big issue for many, Amalija and Viktor lived a very good life.

Even in those days, when Slovenia was part of Communist Yugoslavia and times were lean, Amalija was always impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed. “She was very pretty,” Tomšič, who has run a local hospital to which Melania donated $25,000 after marrying Donald Trump, told GQ in 2016. “She was always very fancy.”

Melania Trump– molding career

When she became a mother, Amalija sewed clothing for herself and her two daughters, Ines and Melania, which would inspire the then-future First Lady. When growing up, Melania did her own designs, and Amalija sewed them.

Viktor and Amalija brought Melania and Ines on vacations to places such as France, Italy, and Germany.

Meanwhile, in their hometown of Sevnica, Melania’s parents still own the same house, which they visit several times a year.

Melania went on to study at a particular high school for industrial design and photography, but at the age of 16, her life would change. And it was pretty much purely down to coincidence.

While leaving a fashion show at the Festival Hall, fashion photographer Stane Jerko noticed Melania leaning on a fence.

Then – in 1987 – photographers didn’t really have the opportunity to find new faces for their work through the internet. Instead, chancing upon someone in real life was how it was sometimes done.

“By the staircase at the entrance, I saw this girl,” Jerko recalled. “She was tall, slim, with long hair. I told her who I was, what I did, and why I would photograph her.”

At that point, Melania wanted to study to become an architect. But at the same time, this was a big opportunity. Jerko, meanwhile, thought the girl had something special.

Moved to New York

Melania ended up studying at the University of Ljubljana. After just a year, though, she decided to pursue her dream of being a model. She hired a photographer to put together a portfolio for her.

A year later, at the age of 18, she signed with a modeling agency in Milan. She spent a couple of years doing modeling work in both Milan and Paris, and she was doing very well.

At this point, Melania wanted to advance in her career. She came into contact with wealthy Italian businessman Paolo Zampolli, who set her up with a modeling contract and a work visa for her to travel to the US.

In 1996, Melania Trump left for New York City. There, she lived in a shared apartment at Gramercy Park, but since she was 26 years old – much older than the average aspiring model at the time – she gambled and put everything on the line.

Melania said she was “determined,” but she had to do something extra in the era of supermodels like Kate Moss and Cindy Crawford. Melania decided to appear without any clothes in the French men’s magazine Max. Ultimately, being 26 years “old” actually was an advantage for her.

Due to a law that prohibited younger models from promoting tobacco, Melania’s face was soon all over Times Square in a commercial for a cigarette company.

Thankful for her parents

Melania Trump promoted herself by Zampolli, sending her and other models to events where photographers and producers were in attendance, among other ways.

In 1998, at one of these events at the Kit Kat Club during New York Fashion Week, Paolo Zampolli had invited a good friend of his. A businessman named Donald Trump. The rest is history, which changed Melania’s and her parent’s lives forever.

As Donald Trump became the President of the United States – and Melania First Lady – Amalija and Viktor were seen several times at the White House, for example, during their daughter’s RNC speech in the White House Rose Garden.

In her speech, Melania thanked her parents for their sacrifice.

“My parents worked very hard to ensure our family could not only live and prosper in America but also contribute to a nation that allows for people to arrive with a dream and make it a reality,” she said. “I want to take the moment to thank my mother and father for all that they have done for our family. It is because of you that I am standing here today.”

Meanwhile, Viktor and Amalija now have the pleasure of being grandparents. According to Politico, Barron Trump spends much time with his grandma and grandpa and speaks Slovenian. According to Politico, they are “hyper-involved” in his life, and in 2017, the news outlet reported that Viktor and Amalija would “become more familiar figures around the White House.”

According to The New York Times, Melania’s parents “split their time among an apartment in Trump Tower, Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and the suite in the White House once used by Mrs. Obama’s mother.”

Sad news about Melania Trump’s mother, Amalija

While Viktor and Amalija have been very supportive, caring, and present in Melania’s and Barron’s lives, sad news has come to light.

Melania Trump was absent for the Christmas photo at Mar-a-Lago, which would have been only the second time she had been seen in public in months. Questions about what had happened were asked, but no one understood what was happening. However, Donald Trump revealed the reason for his wife’s absence at his New Year’s Eve event at Mar-a-Lago.

Sadly, Amalija is “very ill,” and Melania is doing all she can to take care of her mother.

“Melania—great First Lady, so popular, the people love her—she’s now in a hospital with her mother. Her mother, Amalija, is very ill, but hopefully she’ll be recovering,” Trump said.

“But she’s been very ill, so I just want to say ‘hello’ to the First Lady—we just spoke, down in Miami, great hospital—and hopefully they’ll be ok, but it’s a tough one, it’s a very tough one. She knows probably about 95% of the people in this room. We just want to wish Amalija that she gets better as quickly as possible.”