Today’s international online dating industry has changed the way most of us find partners. For beginners, there were roughly 200 international marriage broker agencies in 1999, which coordinated between 4,000 and 6,000 marriages. In 2010, there were 400 such agencies, and between 10,000 and 15,000 resultant weddings. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Since last year, the number of men looking for single women from Slavic countries has doubled. Should we thank Donald Trump?
Donald and Melania Trump have become one of the most recognized couples in the world. Their love story is often described as a Slavic woman who married a billionaire. Melania, the daughter of a former Communist, was born in Slovenia with her older sister, Ines. Being creative and talented, she studied at the University of Ljubljana, but after winning a beauty contest, she left the University and started her career as a model.
In 1995 her ambitions took her to Paris and Milan, where she was lucky enough to meet Paolo Zampolli who was an owner of Metropolitan models. By the way, he was Donald’s friend and a model scout who was searching for girls to work in New York. As soon as he saw Melania, he suggested her going to New York with him and Melania gladly agreed to.
In 1996 she moved to New York, and according to her roommate, a photographer Matthew Atanian, she didn’t like nightlife or making new friends, and preferred going out only for dinners. But how exactly Donald won Melania’s heart?
Donald has always claimed that he met his wife Melania at the fashion party in 1998. However, as stated by Anna Kovak, a matchmaker at one of the Slovenian mail order bride companies, she arranged a call between Melania and some VIP client with a name Donald. Right after the call, Melania asked to delete her profile from the database. But why did they need this secrecy?
Donald has had a long history with women. During his marriage to his first wife, Czech model Ivana Zelní Ková, he had a love affair with actress Marla Maples. After the divorce was finalized, Donald married Maples the following year. However, this was just the beginning. The marriage didn’t last long, and the couple broke up about one year after the fashion party where Donald allegedly met Melania.
According to Kenneth Agee, Marketing Manager of one of the international marriage agencies says, “We have always had to overcome this label. Since Trump announced his candidacy for president of the United States, the industry saw a significant increase in upscale businessmen looking for foreign brides. Once he became president, Trump made it the new status symbol of success to be married to an eastern European woman.”
He also pointed out that after becoming the first foreign woman as a First Lady in the White House, Melanie has affected the public opinion about mail order brides. Just a year before, publicity judged men who were looking for foreign brides. Today it is considered to be prestigious and more men are starting to seek mail order brides from Russia and Ukraine. Thanks to the President, international marriage agencies have doubled their client base and arranged the meetings for hundreds of American men with their potential wives. It doesn’t mean that mail order brides are just trophies for rich Americans. They are free to choose only those men they liked, just like at any online dating site.
It is important to note that American men have gained an excellent reputation among women from Eastern European countries. They are known to be both family guys and career-oriented, which seems attractive to many ladies. It opens the door to the vast majority of single American men who want to find some of the most beautiful women in the world. Just like Mr. President did.
