8 Times Donald And Melania Trump's Body Language Proved Their Marriage Is A Sham

The contrast between the president's and the first lady's body language as individuals is striking. Donald Trump is often animated and open, deploying his expressive "accordion hands" to keep the crowd's attention on him during rallies, and crossing his arms when he's unhappy about something. His wife, Melania Trump, is more stoic and reserved, conveying a lot less to the untrained eye. But when the two interact in public, they give the experts plenty to work with — and the signals they send don't bode well for the state of their union.

When social media users noticed that a kiss between the first couple looked a bit frosty in an April 2025 video marking Melania Trump's birthday, The List asked Nicole Moore, celebrity love coach & body language expert, to share her expert opinion on the exchange. According to Moore, the kiss exposed Donald and Melania's real relationship. Some of the couple's nonverbal cues about what they were feeling included the large amount of distance they kept between themselves, the brevity of the peck on the lips, and their rigid postures.

Other experts have made similar observations about the couple. Their behavior was notably scrutinized during Donald's first inauguration in 2017, with nonverbal communication pundit Patti Wood telling The New Zealand Herald at the time, "If you didn't know that they were [a] couple, you wouldn't know that they are married." For many body language specialists, several other instances seemingly prove their marriage is all an act.

One of the most telling body language moments between Donald Trump and Melania Trump came at the first inauguration, when they exited their SUV to greet the awaiting Obamas on January 20, 2017. As the Trumps made their way up the steps of the White House, Melania came bearing a gift in a Tiffany & Co. box. And as for Donald, who has a long history of being jealous of Barack Obama, he made a beeline for the man he was replacing. By the time Melania had walked around the vehicle to join the group, her husband had already shaken Barack's hand and given Michelle an air kiss.

Nicole Moore analyzed video footage of the moment Donald seemed to forget Melania was with him. "He didn't rest his eyes on his wife for even one second," she previosly told The List. The president is known for having a big ego and not making the greatest decisions when he has his eye on a prize — an example being when Donald accepted a hand-me-down Nobel Peace Prize because he was so desperate to have one in his possession. In this case, the prize was taking the presidency from someone who has lived rent-free in his head for a long time.

Patti Wood told Harper's Bazaar of Donald ditching Melania," ... He's decided he wants to be introduced by himself rather than as a couple unit. He's saying, 'I'm on my own, I am singular, I am president.' That would be one way he shows his power." She also told The New Zealand Herald, " ... It didn't look like the Trumps were a unit."

Over the years, the world has witnessed Melania Trump dodging her husband's hand several times. One of her most indisputable attempts at avoiding Donald Trump's touch came after the couple arrived in Israel in 2017. As they strolled down the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, the first lady put some distance between herself and the president, walking behind him. And when he reached back for her hand, she dismissively flicked his fingers away.

For body language experts, this split-second rejection was worth a thousand words. "I've been doing body language [analysis] the last 20 years, and I've never seen a situation where the president gets his hand swatted," Traci Brown told Elite Daily. Even with cameras around and a large crowd watching, Melania was apparently peeved enough at the president that she wasn't willing to play the part of devoted wife at that moment. "If you're a real team, that kind of thing doesn't really happen," Brown added.

Melania played it a little cooler months later when Donald reached for her hand as they were disembarking their plane in Rome. That time, video footage captured her avoiding contact by brushing some hair from her face, so there could be an argument that the missed connection was unintentional. But with there being multiple other instances of Melania evading Donald's clutches, the professionals can't help but view her maneuvers as a glaring red flag. Communications consultant Dr. Lillian Glass told Elle, "There is definitely some breakage in that relationship."

The president likes for the women around him to look happy to be there — as we learned when Donald Trump escalated his feud with Kaitlin Collins with a gross 8-word attack about her lack of a smile in February 2026. He similarly wanted Melania Trump to flash her pearly whites at an inappropriate time in June 2020. The couple was visiting the Saint John Paul II National Shrine shortly after protests broke out in response to the murder of George Floyd. Most reasonable people would adopt a solemn demeanor on such an occasion, but Donald was captured on video asking Melania to smile.

Trump asks Melania to smile during today's photo op. pic.twitter.com/B59YeDHKRM

— The Recount (@therecount) June 2, 2020

The first lady looked less than thrilled with her husband's request. "Melania shows what we call a poker face, masking her [true] feelings with little muscle movement in her face initially, and her body is rigid," body language expert Suzanne Masefield told Yahoo! Lifestyle about Melania's reaction. She further observed, "When her husband turns to her to speak to her she draws in [a] breath, does a slight lip bite controlling her anger, followed by a facial micro-expression of disgust. All is not well in their marital world." Masefield added that Donald exhibited some "narcissistic" behavior, so it's doubtful he could read his wife's poker face and detect her distaste.

Countless reports suggested that Melania Trump was upset over being forced into the first lady role at the beginning of her husband's first term. Her situation hadn't improved in 2018 when she was secretly recorded complaining about the downsides of her gig, including getting the White House decorated for the holidays. Maybe all the criticism and expectations from those first four years were playing through her mind when Donald Trump won the November 2024 election, because there were some indications that she had a tough time mustering up any excitement when he invited her to celebrate with him during his victory speech.

Melania plastered a smile on her face, but body language expert Darren Stanton told the Mirror, "It appears to be a fake smile. She's smiling because she has to." When Melania hugged her husband, it was also a stiff embrace that lacked warmth; Donald awkwardly grabbed her shoulders and slightly shook her as they shared a brief cheek kiss. "Her head's up which is almost like a gesture of defiance, she is reluctant to reciprocate the action," Stanton observed. "There's no passion, she doesn't want to be there and doesn't like showing emotion towards him."

Stanton also found it strange that Melania stood so far away from Donald during his speech, which just might be an apt visual representation of their emotional connection. "There is a distance between them which is clear," he said. That distance increased in 2025 when Melania escalated her diva behavior and demanded to be a "part-time first lady."

Donald Trump and Melania Trump rarely display PDA, but one awkward moment of affection between them came when they returned to D.C. to reprise their first couple roles. Donald's second inauguration was a fashion nightmare for the whole family, including Melania and her Hamburglar headwear. Whether her hat was an attempt to give herself a little shade while stepping back into a glaring spotlight or a strategically designed sartorial buffer between herself and her husband's lips remains up for debate. However, one body language expert noticed that Melania made no effort to reposition her head when Donald, ahead of his swearing in, swooped underneath her hat's brim to kiss her. Inbaal Honigman told Express, " ... Their uncertain interaction ended up showing that they don't respond naturally to [one] another."

Honigman further observed that one of Donald's interactions, with Second Lady Usha Vance, was "more personal and kind" than his behavior around Melania. Another expert who weighed in on the couple's awkward kiss, Professor Harry Witchel, even suggested that Melania might find it "upsetting or disgusting" when Donald touches her. "She really gives away a lot in body language, showing that she wants as little to do with him as possible," Witchel told Times Radio.

Witchel described the first couple's relationship as "one of forms and etiquette and structure," and Karen Donaldson agreed that Donald and Melania's emotionless air kiss is indicative of a lack of a romantic connection. The body language expert told HuffPost, "It showcases that their relationship and marriage is more one of a business relationship than a deep-loving one."

Critics thought it was blatantly obvious that having a military parade in June 2025 was Donald Trump's way of throwing a taxpayer-funded birthday parade for himself. The Army's 250th anniversary falling on his birth date gave him the perfect excuse to go big for his 79th, treating himself to a front-row seat as tanks squeaked past. However, the pomp and circumstance clearly didn't impress his wife.

As seen in the above video, Melania Trump ignored her husband when he tentatively tickled her fingers with his pinky in another vain attempt to hold hands. Donald also tried to speak to her during the event, but apparently, Melania had little interest in conversing with him. "Melania pulls her body inward and her face puckers, indicating that she wasn't truly pleased," Nicole Moore told The List of their interaction. "Melania's eyes look downward while her mouth pinches, which is a key body language indicator of dissatisfaction or disgust." 

But whenever Melania displays nonverbal cues that she's in no mood to deal with Donald, the former "Apprentice" host likely misses them. Moore pointed out that Donald doesn't usually try to observe the facial cues of his wife, adding, "This couple appears to be physically next to each other but living in their own emotional worlds."

When Melania Trump's least favorite time of the year rolled back around in December 2025, she channeled her inner Scrooge during an annual holiday event at the White House. She and Donald Trump were chatting with kids on the phone about how excited they were for Santa's upcoming visit. Donald seemed to be in a merry mood, but Melania looked like she'd rather be anywhere else — like maybe being schooled by three Christmas spirits on how much better the season of giving is when you have a little holiday spirit.

Trump: How elegant is the first lady? Look at you. I'm not supposed—

Melania Trump: Anybody else? Are they calling? pic.twitter.com/UNBlzY6O7P

— Acyn (@Acyn) December 24, 2025

Melania did smile at her husband when he called her "elegant," but she cut him off mid-sentence, letting him know she'd rather take a call from another child than listen to what he was about to say. "Anybody else?" she asked someone off-camera. "I'm thinking she wants outta there because she's talking about the last call," Traci Brown told Radar Online. The behavior analyst also noted how Melania was seated in her chair with her body turned away from Donald, reiterating, "It's likely she wants to leave." Maybe Melania's holiday cheer reserves were running a bit low by that point because she had to sit there and listen to her husband tell one child that Santa is "a little on the heavy side" and defend "clean, beautiful coal" to another who didn't want it in their Christmas stocking.

Donald Trump loves shiny gold trophies, but would the FIFA Peace Prize winner be happy and supportive if the "Melania" documentary were to win a UFC Academy Award or WWE Golden Globe? Perhaps not, considering his behavior at the movie's January 2026 premiere. While Melania Trump was speaking to the press, Donald stood to the side, swayed a bit, stared down at the black carpet, and pursed his lips. He was totally channeling a bored 6-year-old struggling to stand still while his mom talks to someone at the grocery store.

Without uttering a word tell us you can't stand when anybody but you gets attention, even for one minute... pic.twitter.com/coUYApUdHD

— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) January 31, 2026

An expert agreed that Donald didn't appear comfortable with Melania being the star of the show at her documentary premiere. "[Melania] is obviously center stage and in the limelight. I don't think Trump particularly likes this, as he makes no obvious effort through his body language to display that he is proud," Darren Stanton told the Irish Star US. Stanton also noticed that Donald struggled to even smile at what would be one of the last events held at The Kennedy Center before he decided to shutter its doors for two years.

Another body language expert, Judi James, noted that Donald didn't just withhold his Grinch-like grin while posing with his wife. "No flirting, kissing or whispering together here," she told the Mirror, adding, "just a reminder of Trump's leadership status as he dominates the choreography, leading his wife by the hand and pulling her away once a pose is over." So, is it curtains for this couple? Stay tuned.