Is Melania Trump taking 'preparatory steps' for separation from Donald Trump with her post-White House office?
Former First Lady Melania Trump is establishing a post-White House office in Palm Beach, Florida, to continue her "Be Best" campaign, according to a report by CNN. However, a relationship expert told another outlet that the former FLOTUS' moves could be "preparatory steps" to set up her separation from the former President.
According to CNN that cited two sources familiar with Melania Trump's plans, the former first lady plans to continue her work on the "Be Best" campaign that began during her time at the White House and is a broad, three-pillared initiative, which looks to help children in terms of children's health and well-being, their safety online and the prevention of social media bullying as well as the impact of the opioid crisis on children.
Melania was not as active as previous first ladies in her White House campaign, often going weeks between Be Best-focused public events. While she was the first lady, the East Wing policy office was not robustly staffed, at times sat vacantly, and at most had one full-time dedicated East Wing employee, according to CNN.
Melania Trump's post-White House office will consist of three of her White House staff members, including Hayley D'Antunono, who served for four years as Melania's director of operations and trip supervisor and is now her chief of staff. Other staff members include Mary "Casey" Finzer, who was a low-level staff assistant in the East Wing office, and Marcia Kelly, who served as an unpaid senior advisor.
Melania's interest in continuing the campaign could be a move that can be interpreted as "preparations for a separation", according to Louisa Whitney, of the LKW Family Mediation. Whitney told The Daily Star that while it is not unusual for someone to have been unhappy in a relationship for some time but to have stayed for a variety of reasons, they could make moves in preparation to separate.
Whitney says this includes purchasing new property, being sure a person will have an income in the event of a separation or setting up counseling for emotional support. The family mediator told the publication, "Melania’s wish for a separate office could well be preparatory steps for explaining to Donald that she’d like to separate – she might be seeking to set up a role for herself that builds on the work she did as first lady."
Whitney continued, "She might also want to be setting up an identity for herself in her own right. It can be hard I think for anyone separating to establish themselves as just that person rather than part of a couple – especially if their partner was more high profile, more outgoing, or better known than them."
Another relationship expert, Tina Wilson, the founder of the Wingman app, agrees that Melania seems to want to "forge her own path" with the office move, but adds that it may just be with her business activities. Wilson told The Daily Star, "As the former first lady, Melania has been under the microscope for the last four years, being analyzed, criticized, loved and hated as she has stood by Donald, who has reveled in the attention."
She continued, "She now has the opportunity to create her own space, choose her own work and shape her own public persona. By having a separate office to her spouse she is stating loud and clear, 'I’ve done my duty and need some me-time, so back off'."
Wilson said, "It would be easier to keep her office in the same building as Donald’s, so the move to seek an "outside workspace" signals her strive for independence and freedom. Time will tell whether this is just for her career or If there is more behind the scenes going on." She added, "The constraints of public office are now gone and the shackles from Donald have been sawn off, perhaps we will even see a smile from Melania."