Melania Trump's Throwback Photo With Donald Doesn't Help Plastic Surgery Rumors

There are some wild theories about Melania Trump's rumored plastic surgery doing the rounds on the internet, and whenever an old photograph of the former model makes a reappearance, they ramp up considerably. A snap of her and future husband Donald Trump attending the premiere of "The Thomas Crown Affair" in 1999 highlights Melania's stunning transformation over the years, but it also hints that her present-day good looks might not just be the result of good genes.

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Plastic surgeon Dr. Sean McNally posited to the Irish Star that Melania's eyes were a dead giveaway that she'd had some cosmetic work done. "The periorbital area [the skin around the eye socket] looks rejuvenated due to less excess skin and better brow position," McNally noted after the first lady's 2025 interview with Fox News went viral. According to McNally, this look is usually accomplished through eyelid surgery and a brow lift. He also felt it was likely she'd had some laser treatments too (at an estimated cost of $30,000!). Luckily, in Trumpland, that's pocket change. Melania's face does look markedly different in that 1999 snap, but it's important to remember that she was only 29 at the time. 

Facial plastic surgeon Dr. Gary Linkov agreed that her youthful glow is likely thanks to some medical intervention. He compared photographs from the 1990s to more recent snaps of the first lady in a YouTube video, observing some changes to her nose, which he suspected had been cosmetically altered during Melania's 20s. Linkov also argued that she favored lip fillers when she was younger and that she might have had cheek implants too. Linkov also speculated that Melania gets regular Botox injections to keep the wrinkles at bay.

If Melania Trump is getting regular cosmetic treatments, she's not about to share her plastic surgeon's contact details with anyone. The first lady has consistently denied getting any work done. In fact, she condemned cosmetic procedures during a 2011 interview with Allure. "What's the purpose?" Melania questioned at the time. "If you have Botox done and full lips and all that, if it makes you happy, fine. But it's not for me." The bestselling author also confirmed that she knew women who had work done and regretted it afterward because the results were not what they expected. "I'm 40 years old," she added. "I don't want to look like I'm 15 or 20 years old." That was a refreshing take, especially given how many women in Donald Trump's inner circle sport what has been dubbed "Mar-a-Lago face." It's worth noting that Melania does indeed look the most natural when comparing her to all the women worshipping at her husband's feet.

In a 2016 interview with GQ, she once again strongly refuted the plastic surgery rumors. "I didn't make any changes," Melania stated firmly, decrying any reports suggesting otherwise as inaccurate. She added, "I'm against Botox, I'm against injections; I think it's damaging your face, damaging your nerves. It's all me. I will age gracefully, as my mom does." And yet, the first lady's long-ago roommate and photographer from her younger days claimed that she had a breast augmentation, feeling "It needed to be done to get more lingerie jobs." Even so, clearly, Melania isn't about to cop to having had plastic surgery anytime soon. Perhaps she is aging naturally, but Donald shutting down rumors about Melania getting plastic surgery makes us more hesitant to believe it's true.