“His eyes were full of curiosity and interest,” she writes, describing his energy as magnetic. When his companion stepped away, Trump asked for Melania’s phone number. She declined — then flipped the moment in her favor. “You give me your number instead,” she told him.

Surprised but impressed, Trump had his bodyguard write down his number and handed it to her. “Call me,” he said. Melania left the next day for a Caribbean photo shoot but couldn’t stop thinking about him. Though they didn’t begin dating right away, that brief encounter sparked something lasting. A year later, their relationship began.