Melania Trump is missing, or at least that’s what half the internet and several of her Mar-a-Lago neighbours think. So let’s investigate.

According to these insiders, the former First Lady has rarely been seen outside of the private members club in Florida that now serves as the Trumps’ permanent base since leaving the White House.

“Nobody knows where she is. It’s like a mystery. It’s certainly talked about,” Laurence Leamer, author of a book on the infamous Mar-a-Lago estate stated. The author also shared that members have reported seeing the former model far less often at the club, despite the fact that she lives “right off the main hall.”

In the past few months, Mrs Trump has also been notably absent from his campaign trail, after already taking a relatively small role in his 2016 campaign. This is highly atypical of spouses of presidential candidates, who are usually intent and communicating the perfect family unit that is a central cornerstone for the American dream.

However, what heightened suspicions was Melania’s absence from the family’s Christmas pictures. The photo, taken at Mar-a-Lago, featured most of the Trump family, including their 17-year-old son Barron, and Melania’s father. Nevertheless, the actual hostess of the festivities was missing.

To top it all off, Melania passed on accompanying her husband to a New Year’s Eve party. So at this point, even Trump had to drop the ‘everything is fine’ charade and clear the air about his wife’s whereabouts. In a video clip shared online, he said: “Melania—great First Lady, so popular, the people love her—she’s now in a hospital with her mother.”

He went on to add: “Her mother, Amalija, is very ill, but hopefully she’ll be recovering.” Trump didn’t miss an opportunity to add that his wife sends her love. “But she’s been very ill, so I just want to say ‘hello’ to the First Lady—we just spoke, down in Miami, great hospital—and hopefully they’ll be okay, but it’s a tough one, it’s a very tough one. She knows probably about 95 per cent of the people in this room. We just want to wish Amalija that she gets better as quickly as possible.”

Nevertheless, the fact that Melania seemed to be missing had already made headlines by that point. “So Melania’s mom is very sick, but her father appeared. Got it!” one netizen shared on X, formerly Twitter, voicing an overall disbelief of Trump’s statements online.

So Melania’s Mom is very sick, but her father appeared. Got it!#WhereIsMelania#TrumpStinks https://t.co/EHdfQqP3OC

— Joni (@Missyjj) January 2, 2024

Where is Melania? pic.twitter.com/0WPl7TQuv5

— The Last Squatch (@TheLastSquatch) January 1, 2024

https://twitter.com/Help_LiamNissan/status/1742532074160914740

Remember playing “Where is Waldo”.

Now we all play “Where is Melania”?

😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/JOFEn7gsjr

— RefugeefromGOP (@PaulWingard5) December 30, 2023

Speaking of plagiarism, where is Melania these days https://t.co/AsiDnG2Lox

— Fark n' Bark (@Doug75280706) January 3, 2024

Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time that the former First Lady’s whereabouts have been in question. In 2018, Mrs Trump was seemingly missing for an astonishing 20 days, leading to considerable speculation about her health and well-being. This prompted her to tweet: “I’m here at the White House with my family, feeling great, and working hard on behalf of children and the American people!”

I see the media is working overtime speculating where I am & what I'm doing. Rest assured, I'm here at the @WhiteHouse w my family, feeling great, & working hard on behalf of children & the American people!

— Melania Trump 45 Archived (@FLOTUS45) May 30, 2018

Look, I am not one to bargain in conspiracy theories, but it is fun to imagine that Melania finally jumped ship and left her notoriously misogynist husband, especially after newly unsealed court documents drew renewed attention to his relationship with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Is the heightened media attention getting too much? Melania, who has been memed endlessly over her supposed disdain of Donald Trump, might finally think that enough is enough.

She really, really doesn’t like him.https://t.co/XzBFI8pVBH

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) August 17, 2020

https://twitter.com/Hello_From_TO/status/1740059451707797941

I get so confused when liberals don’t like melania trump? lmao she hates her husband too

— goge🧃 (@GoGeurt) February 1, 2019

When Melania Trump trends on Twitter, I like to remind #MAGA how much she despises, loathes and hates her Pretend Husband, Traitor to the United States, Criminal, Racist, Draft Dodger, and Payer of Hush Money to Porn Starspic.twitter.com/kgOzpGQsyV

— FIRST TO FIGHT 🇺🇸 (@FaktCzech) March 24, 2023

Nevertheless, these speculations seem unlikely to be true. It should be noted that every assumption that Melania hates Trump, or is just going along with his shenanigans for their son Barron rids her of any complicity. Under her passive attitude, poised smile and elegant looks, she might very well be hiding the same views as her husband. Although she doesn’t join him on stage, Trump has indicated multiple times that the former First Lady is still a source of moral support and love for him. This would move the mystery around her frequent disappearances into a different light, of course.

If it is not an aversion to her husband, then what is it? Palm Beach insiders have described Mrs Trump as fiercely protective of her family, in particular regarding her son Barron, who is now 17 years old.

Some speculated that Melania may be reluctant to return to the White House at a critical point in her son’s education, and noted that this time around, the teenager would be subjected to much more press scrutiny.

“She wants to protect him… and if Trump was back in the White House, Barron will be all over the news because he’s an adult [now],” Leamer stated in his book.

At the same, with Trump’s legal problems increasing significantly, it could be likely that the former First Lady is trying to protect herself by avoiding association and thus complicity in whatever it is her husband might cook up next.

Whatever the reason, it seems like we will be seeing much less of Melania in the future.