Who

The Slovenian ex-model became the third Mrs. Donald Trump in 2005. In approximately five years, when she and Trump divorce, she'll join the pantheon of D-list celebrity ex-wives.

Backstory

Knauss left Ljubljana—where she was known as Melanija Knavs—at the age of 19 to pursue a modeling career in Europe. In the mid-'90s, she made her way to the States and embarked on a modest-but-steady career posing for cheesecake photos in lad mags like FHM and British GQ. In 1999, she had the honor and privilege of meeting Trump for the first time. It wasn't until 2004, though, that the couple announced plans to marry: Ever the negotiator, Trump proposed to Knauss with a 15-carat engagement ring that he got for half-off as part of a promotional deal with Graff Jewelers. (The company got a plug on The Apprentice.) In 2005, Knauss married the humble, low-key billionaire. (To no one's surprise, Trump made Knauss sign a pre-nup, although he won't disclose the terms.) She spawned Barron Trump—her first child, Donald's fifth—in March 2006.

Of note

Melania's wedding to Trump, held at Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach in January 2005, was handled with the modesty and lack of ostentation that are Trump's trademark. Guests like Billy Joel, Katie Couric, Kelly Ripa, and Star Jones Reynolds got to see Melania strut her stuff in a $200,000, 50-pound Christian Dior dress and feast on a dinner cooked by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. For dessert, each guest got their own Grand Marnier-soaked wedding cake, a replica of a larger 50-pound cake.

Drama

In December 2006, apparent nudie photos from Knauss' younger days surfaced in the skin mag Celebrity Sleuth. Trump heatedly denied that the photos (which depict the alleged Knauss in a variety of Sapphic embraces) were of his beloved bride.

Personal

As Donald's third wife, Melania is now step-mom to Donald's four other children, Ivanka, Donald Jr., Eric, and Tiffany. Knauss and Trump coo over son Barron in a triplex penthouse at Midtown's Trump Tower, which features 52 rooms and "the largest marble columned living room" in Manhattan. They spend weekends at the Mar-A-Lago, which they commute to aboard Trump's aging Boeing 727.

Soundbite

The ever-classy Trump remarked on Knauss' beauty: "When we walk into a restaurant, I watch grown men weep."

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