A photo from early in Melania Trump’s modeling career surfaced in 2017, and many people compared the throwback snap to her appearance at the time as evidence that she had plastic surgery at some point. Multiple plastic surgeons examined the before-and-after pics and came to the conclusion that the then-first lady had altered her face. “Melania’s forehead is as smooth as a baby’s rear end, so she’s had liberal amounts of Botox for sure,” Dr. Franklin Rose told Life & Style in June 2017. Another doctor believed Melania had more than just injections. “Comparing the earlier photo when she is younger and the later life pictures one can see that the nasal shape has changed,” Dr. Jag Chana told the outlet.
The following year more possible evidence arose that Melania had work done. In May 2018 she had disappeared from the public eye, and several prognosticators believed it was for a cosmetic touch up. “Like, it seems SUPER obvious she had some plastic surgery and can’t show her face again until it’s healed,” an X user wrote at the time. The White House released an official statement on the then-first lady’s condition. They said Melania had a procedure performed to treat a benign kidney condition which led to her staying in the hospital for five days, per The Cut. Despite the official statement, rumors continued to swirl that she had plastic surgery. Later, a source that was once close to the Trump family claimed Melania showed interest in cosmetic surgery.