In breaking with tradition, Melania Trump arrived separately from her husband, President Donald Trump, for his first State of the Union address, further leading to speculation that all is not well behind White House closed doors.
The couple, who have not been seen publicly together since New Year's Eve, broke protocol to arrive to the Capitol building in separate cars on Tuesday, despite the short journey from the White House.
Instead, Melania opted to ride with the guests she had invited to sit in the first lady's box.
Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's communications director, explained the pair's separate car rides as a way for the former model to honour 'her guests for the true heroes they are'.
'In addition to holding a White House reception and photo opportunity for them, along with their friends and family, she is accompanying them to the Capitol,' Grisham said in a statement.
'Once there, the first lady and Mrs. Pence will host a more intimate meet-and-greet to engage with them on a personal level prior to the speech.'
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the first lady arrived separately for 'no reason other than she can greet the guests and he can go straight in'.
Anyone else thinking 'thou doth protest too much'?
Once inside, Melania was welcomed with a standing ovation and sat beside New Mexico police Officer Ryan Holets and 12-year-old Preston Sharp, two of the guests she earlier described in a tweet as a 'honourable group' of notable heroes and survivors.
The First lady wore a cream Christian Dior trouser suit and a Dolce & Gabbana white silk blouse for the occasion.
The choice of attire was widely believed to be a subtle dig at her husband, following Hillary choice to wear suffragette-inspired white to the 2017 inauguration.
Melania's appearance at the Capitol comes after she abruptly canceled a planned trip to Davos, Switzerland, with President Trump last week, amid allegations he had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Instead, the politician's wife traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida. The New York Times reports the first lady's four-hour roundtrip flight to Mar-a-Lago cost taxpayers approximately $64,600 (£45,000).
The White House and Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, have denied all allegations of the president's affair with Daniels.
The First Lady was reportedly 'furious' following reports published by the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that claimed Cohen arranged a $130,000 (£92,000) payment to Daniels just before the election to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Ahead of her appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, Daniels released a statement denying an affair with Trump.
At the beginning of the interview, Kimmel read the statement aloud to her: 'I am not denying this affair because I was paid 'hush money' as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened', it read in part.
For the rest of the interview, Daniels skirted Kimmel's questions, replying with carefully-worded responses or silence, resulting in the presenter declaring the on-air experience as 'an unsuccessful experiment'.
Indeed.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
