It’s not unusual for people to fixate on Melania Trump’s appearance. After all, she’s been under the public eye long before she became First Lady. But a resurfaced photo from her early modeling days has sent social media into a tailspin, with many insisting she looks almost like a completely different person.
The vintage snapshot, which has now made the rounds online, shows a youthful Melania long before her marriage to Donald Trump. But it’s not the nostalgia that’s driving the conversation. It’s the perceived transformation in her face, sparking renewed chatter about plastic surgery rumors that have followed her for years.
The New York Times interviews Melania Knauss, 29-year-old Slovenian girlfriend of real estate mogul and 2000 Presidential candidate Donald Trump, to ask whether she thinks she would make a good First Lady.
“I would be very traditional, like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy,” Knauss… pic.twitter.com/eSFLxTxBye
— 2000 Live (@25YearsAgoLive) December 1, 2024
Once an Instagram account posted the throwback alongside a more recent image, the comment section lit up. One user said, “Yes, Doctor… Please put my cheekbones right next to my ears, remove 75% of my chin, give me a nice, big, healthy set of jugs… ooh, and make my eyes look like I’m permanently trying to bend spoons with my mind.” Subtle, it was not.
Others joined in with equal parts concern and sarcasm. “She was so much prettier before. Always looks angry eyed—so much pulling of skin,” one person wrote. Another comment read, “Why does it look like Melania is always squinting?” And someone else bluntly asked, “Did she have her eyes made smaller?”
One user summed up the collective confusion: “Why do people do this to their faces? I just don’t understand. She had such a lovely face.”
Now, while internet opinions are a dime a dozen, a few medical professionals have also weighed in. Dr. Dennis Schimpf, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Charleston, South Carolina, has examined public photos of Melania and pointed out what he believes are telltale signs of surgical work.
Speaking to The List, Schimpf noted a scar just in front of Melania’s ear, which is commonly associated with facelift surgery. He also mentioned changes in the shape of her ears and the smoothness of her neck as indicators of possible cosmetic tweaks. In his professional opinion, Melania may have had an eyelid lift too. Comparing her earlier, almond-shaped eyes to her current appearance, he suspects a procedure called canthoplasty, possibly combined with a temporal brow lift.
Backing him up is Dr. Sean McNally, who also sees signs of facial surgery. He pointed out a “pixie-shaped” earlobe and a faint scar line that mostly suggests facelift incisions. Nothing official, of course. But the evidence, in their eyes, adds up.
Then there was that 2018 incident. The White House had announced that Melania underwent kidney cyst embolization. A standard, non-cosmetic procedure. But her five-day hospital stay and nearly month-long disappearance from public view raised more than a few eyebrows. Given that this procedure usually only requires 24 hours of recovery, some speculated it might have doubled as a cover for cosmetic work. Convenient timing, perhaps?
According to Dr. Schimpf, a facelift recovery typically involves 6 weeks of downtime, with bruising and swelling largely gone in the first few weeks. The timeline matched a little too neatly for some observers.
Sometimes, destiny is written in the stars
Did you know that in 1993, at just 23 years old, Melania Knauss now Melania Trump, starred in a commercial in Slovenia 🇸🇮 as a model, where she portrayed, with all the hallmarks, a President of the United States?pic.twitter.com/c7EZKVXoH8
— Mambo Italiano (@mamboitaliano__) January 24, 2025
Still, Melania has firmly denied ever going under the knife. In an interview with GQ, she was crystal clear: “I didn’t do anything. I live a healthy life, I take care of my skin and my body. I’m against Botox, I’m against injections; I think it’s damaging your face, damaging your nerves. It’s all me.”
Donald Trump, naturally, came to his wife’s defense during the 2018 speculation storm. He tweeted: “The Fake News Media has been so unfair, and vicious, to my wife and our great First Lady, Melania. During her recovery from surgery they reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the W.H. (and me) for N.Y. or Virginia, to abuse. All Fake, she is doing really well!”
The Fake News Media has been so unfair, and vicious, to my wife and our great First Lady, Melania. During her recovery from surgery they reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the W.H. (and me) for N.Y. or Virginia, to abuse. All Fake, she is doing really well!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2018
At the heart of it, this isn’t just about a photo. It’s about how public figures, especially women, are constantly scrutinized for changing appearances. Whether it’s natural aging, cosmetic procedures, or just a different camera angle, the conversation about Melania’s face speaks volumes about celebrity culture, expectations, and the very fine line between personal choice and public opinion.
In other words? People saw a photo, and the internet did what it does best. Lost its mind.
