French First Lady Says Melania Trump “Cannot Do Anything” While Living in Washington DC

Who said being First Lady wouldn’t be difficult? According to French First Lady Brigitte Macron, Melania Trump‘s life is full of restrictions — for example, Donald Trump‘s wife “cannot do anything.”

“She can’t even open a window at the White House,” Brigitte Macron, 65, told French magazine Le Monde (via The Guardian), following her visit to the White House. “She can’t go outside. She’s much more constrained than I am. I go out every day in Paris.”

According to The Washington Post, Melania, 48, has been living a constrained life for quite some time. Even while she was still living back in New York, Melania was in what The Post called “a virtual shut-in.” “Two months after her husband’s swearing-in, the nation’s new first lady approaches her role with a discernible reticence, her paucity of public appearances — each defined by tight smiles and spare verbiage — overshadowed by a vanishing act that stretches days on end.”

President Trump recently opened up about Melania’s role in the White House — and shared her life isn’t as easy as it looks. While at a rally in Moon Township, PA in mid-March, the POTUS praised Melania’s efforts with country’s opioid epidemic. “Great first lady. She’s great. She’s great,” he said, according to The Hill. “You think her life is so easy, folks? Not so easy. She is a great First Lady.”

This isn’t the first time Donald referenced his wife of 13 years in a public speech recently. There have been rumors going around about the couple’s troubled marriage following the news of his affair with Stormy Daniels, so the 71-year-old joked about Melania leaving him at the Gridiron dinner in early March.

“So many people have been leaving the White House. It’s actually been really exciting and invigorating ’cause you want new thought. So I like turnover. I like chaos. It really is good,” he said, according to CNN. “Now the question everyone keeps asking is, ‘Who is going to be the next to leave? Steve Miller or Melania?'” To funny…

From the outside looking in, it’s evident Melania’s life hasn’t been the simplest over the past year. She’s been a victim of hate and nasty rumors (especially on social media) since her husband took office in January 2017.

Brigitte also shared that she feels everything Melania does “is interpreted” and then “over-interpreted.” She explained that Melania’s life seemed “much more constrained” than her own, citing, “I have the impression that every word is a word too many. I’m constantly holding myself back. That’s the hardest part: there’s never really any time off, never a moment when you can be completely calm.”

On top of that, Melania also had to deal with Donald’s ex-wife Ivana Trump slamming her and her position. During a past interview with Good Morning America, Ivana suggested she doesn’t use her private phone line to Donald to avoid making Melania jealous. “I [don’t] really want to call him there because Melania is there,” Ivana, who shares three kids with Donald, said. “And I don’t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife. OK? I’m First Lady.”

However, Melania just took the slam as an opportunity to make it clear how much she values her role as First Lady. “Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for [her son, Barron Trump], and The President. She loves living in Washington, DC and is honored by her role as First Lady of the United States,” her Private Secretary revealed at the time. “She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books. There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately, only attention seeking and self-serving noise.” Hopefully things get easier for Melania.

Parts of this story appeared on our sister site, Life & Style.