Ines Knauss: Who Is Melania Trump's Sister You Never Really Hear About?
Despite having been the first lady of the United States of America, Melania Trump has managed to live a pretty private life. Sure, she makes speeches sometimes on her husband's behalf and everyone knows that she's a former model and the mother to Barron Trump, but that's about it for the majority of Americans. Like, did you even know that Melania has a sister, Ines Knauss, that she's actually really, really close to?
Melania keeps her family very private — her Wikipedia page doesn't even mention her sister or her brother Denis Cigelnjak. But that doesn't mean she's not important to the FLOTUS. In fact, Town and Country reports that her relationship with her sister might have even been the real reason that Melania didn't move to Washington, D.C. right away following the election, and not that she was just waiting for Barron to finish out the school year. The two sisters are apparently that connected to each other. Here's what else we know about the secretive sibling.
Melania Trump and her sister are 'very close'
Melania Trump's sister Ines Knauss followed Melania to Milan during her modeling career and eventually landed in New York City with her. As of 2017, Knauss lived in Manhattan in the same Trump building on Park Ave. that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump lived in before moving to Washington, D.C., per the New York Post. Apparently Knauss is an artist and Melania shared some of her work before. It's unclear if the Facebook and Instagram accounts under Knauss' name are actually her, but if they are, she often posts throwback pics of her and Melania and even pics of Barron. There are also shots of her sister's old modeling campaigns.
Palm Beach philanthropist Audrey Gruss, who met Knauss at a fundraiser for the Boys' Club of New York at the Trumps' Mar-a-Lago estate in 2005, told the New York Post, "They are very close. She struck me as a lovely person, and extremely creative." According to the outlet, Knauss wanted to break into fashion design while Melania broke into modeling, but she had trouble getting into the industry.
Still, she's a very dedicated and protective sister, per the Post's sources, going as far as to help silence Melania's ex-boyfriends from Slovenia when they wanted to publish tell-all books. She was also Melania's maid of honor at her 2005 wedding to Donald Trump. It's unclear what Knauss thinks of her brother-in-law, but as time goes on, maybe people will learn more about her.
Ines Knauss has critiqued Donald Trump's presidency
Ines Knauss may lead an extremely private life, but she does enjoy social media. In 2021, journalist Ashley Feinberg uncovered Knauss' private X account, formerly known as Twitter, and it caused some controversy as she criticized former President Donald Trump and even her sister, Melania Trump.
According to the screenshots, provided by Feinberg's newsletter, Knauss had liked tweets that revealed she may not be a fan of her brother-in-law. And Feinberg knew this was Knauss' real X account because it was unveiled in Mary Jordan's 2020 book, "The Art of Her Deal." In a rare criticism of Donald, Knauss liked a tweet that included a screenshot of the former president's X account being suspended with the caption, "We should all congratulate Melania Trump for her successful campaign against cyberbullying." The tweet implied that Donald was the bully and took a jab at the anti-bullying campaign that Melania led during her time in the White House.
Despite this rare tweet criticizing Donald and Melania, Knauss is still protective over her big sis on her X account. Replying to a tweet of an article that had the headline, "Melania's Ex-BFF Stephanie Winston Wolkoff Says There's Blood On Her Hands," Knauss said, "Very understandable you are hurt, but coming out w/such a harsh accusation is strong & wrong." Knauss' X account was filled with tweets of Donald and Melania, most of which supported the couple in what they did.