Why he hates his birthday, her fruity diet… and the real reason Barron never had a nanny

Melania Trump made headlines this week when sources suggested she might no longer live with her husband if he is re-elected, breaking a two-and-a-half century tradition for women in the White House.

But for anyone familiar with the extremely independent model first lady, the news should come as no surprise.

Melania has been continuously distancing herself from front-line politics for years and previously admitted that she has a “mind of her own” – something that she says Trump “likes” about her.

Her absence from his court hearings in May was conspicuous, and long before that – during her husband’s first term in office – she had refused to perform the typical duties of a first lady.

But is this separation of their private and political lives the secret to their 19-year marriage? Here, DailyMail.com looks back at their unconventional and fiercely independent partnership.

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Shortly after Trump was sworn in in 2016, Melania reiterated her desire to stay out of the spotlight in an interview.

“I have chosen not to engage in public politics because that is my husband’s job,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.

“In my private life I am very political and between me and my husband I know everything that is going on. I have a mind of my own. I am my own person and I think my husband likes that about me.”

Instead, she repeatedly stressed that her top priority was her son Barron, whom she gave birth to in 2006 at the age of 35.

Although she could have as many nannies as she wanted, his Slovenian-born mother decided to raise him without any outside help.

“I like to be active. I think that’s very important. He needs someone to be there as a parent, so I’m with him all the time. As you know, my husband is constantly traveling,” she told People magazine in 2015, when Barron was nine.

Before her life collided with frontline politics, Melania had a career as a model, which began after she was discovered by photographer Stane Jerk in 1987 at the age of 16.

She enjoyed success in Paris and Milan before moving to New York City at the age of 26, where she later landed a billboard advertisement for Camel cigarettes in Times Square.

Back then, she maintained her figure by walking around at home with ankle weights and eating seven pieces of fruit every day – she still swears by the latter tip today.

Her favorites are peaches and apples.

She also likes to eat a smoothie with spinach, carrots and blueberries with apple juice and fat-free yogurt for breakfast.

She met Trump in 1998 and the couple married in 2005.

Today, she is an entrepreneur in her own right thanks to her skincare line and jewelry collections. She has even been a guest host on “The View” several times.

In an interview with Parenting Magazine, Melania explained how she and her husband maintained their independence.

“My life is very normal – for me. Some people might not think that. But for me it is. I know my husband. We have a great relationship. We are both very independent. We know our roles and are happy with them,” she said.

“I don’t think you need to be with your husband every minute of the day.

“They should both pursue their passion and then come together morning and night, share and experience life and have a great time. You know the saying: ‘Work hard and party even harder?’ That’s what we do.”

Nevertheless, Melania caused a stir on June 14 when she did not attend Trump’s 78th birthday party at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

This may be partly because the former president hated the celebrations.

His ex-wife Ivanka once claimed: “Donald hates his birthday.”

And the politician himself reprimanded his supporters in Las Vegas who wanted to sing “Happy Birthday” to him this year.

He told them, “You know, there comes a point where you don’t want to hear ‘Happy Birthday’ anymore. You just want to pretend that this day doesn’t exist.”

But Melania didn’t even send her husband a birthday message on social media, which sparked dozens of headlines.

Now analysts are speculating that she will not follow Trump into the White House if he wins another term in November.

She will likely split her time between Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, and New York City – especially since 18-year-old Barron’s next step is to attend New York University.

Melania will reportedly travel to Washington, DC only for ceremonial obligations such as state dinners and other special occasions.

The decision not to live in Washington is an unprecedented move for a First Lady, but it is not unexpected, as she spent much of her husband’s first term in office with her parents in the city’s suburbs.

“She is distancing herself even more from her husband and from the sociopolitical scene in Washington,” Kate Andersen Brower, who has written several books about first ladies, told Axios.

“I mean, she obviously hated being in Washington.”

Next month, the former First Lady will host a fundraiser for the conservative LGBT group Log Cabin Republicans at Trump Tower in New York.

When Melania was asked last month if Americans would soon see more of her on the campaign trail, she simply replied, “Stay tuned.”