Melania Trump is ‘very protective’ of son her Barron and spends little time at Mar-a-Lago making new friends
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As Donald Trump faces the possibility of being indicted, his wife, Melania Trump, is relying on her family in Palm Beach, especially her parents and her 17-year-old son, Barron.
According to sources, the former first lady does not have a tight circle of friends. One New York socialite who knew Melania before she married Donald remembers a moment when a news writer suggested she try to get close to the then-model.
“I remember a group of us were chatting and a high-profile gossip columnist was with us who said, ‘Oh, Melania is over there. We should all go talk to her because she is probably going to marry Donald,'” the socialite tells PEOPLE. “Melania was just one of the girls then, and we all knew her as that. But none of us really knew her then or now.”
According to Salon reports, Melania, now 52, has been known as a woman who sticks to herself, choosing to spend time with family rather than rubbing elbows in social groups or giving press interviews since her husband was elected president.
“Melania’s friends are her family members,” a Palm Beach source tells PEOPLE. “Many Mar-a-Lago Club members and others know and see Melania. But they aren’t friends. They don’t get together and gab or socialize. She has always surrounded herself with family. She is a doting mother to Barron and very protective of him. This is nothing new.”
As the Trumps anticipate a possible indictment of the 76-year-old former president in connection with an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, those familial ties remain unchanged.
“Barron has always been a first priority in [Melania’s] life,” the source says. “Of course, she is worried and concerned about the legal issues but she has not done anything more to protect Barron now than she ever did. She has always put him first. She is a good mother.”
The source adds that Melania’s parents, who live at the Trump family property in Mar-a-Lago near the former first lady, “are also close to Barron and have been instrumental in his rearing.”
The former first family is protected from many of the judicial and political problems confronting the former president in the quiet setting of Palm Beach’s members-only club.
“They live in a fairy tale world and just deal with things as they come and seem to survive pretty well,” the source says. “They do what is possible to get past the problems without disrupting their lifestyle.”
Another insider adds that Donald hasn’t altered his daily routine in Palm Beach, where he was recently observed having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club.
Despite the legal problems hanging over her husband as a result of an alleged romance with Daniels in 2006, Melania is continuing to live her life at the couple’s Palm Beach residence, according to other sources.
“Melania is leading her own life, and still feels happy being at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by people who love her and who never talk about reality or bad things about her husband,” a social source told PEOPLE earlier.
However, she does not support her husband’s involvement in the alleged hidden money payment, which comes from a reported affair that the former porn star claims occurred less than four months after Melania gave birth to the couple’s son, Barron, in 2006.
“She remains angry and doesn’t want to hear [the alleged hush money payment] mentioned,” the source tells PEOPLE. “She is aware of who her husband is and keeps her life upbeat with her own family and a few close friends.”
