Donald Trump’s hush money trial saw a parade of witnesses take the stand, sharing details about the former president’s personal life, but his wife was notably absent from the courtroom as the case played out for more than five weeks.

As well as lurid details of his encounter with Stormy Daniels and testimony about his dealings with Michael Cohen, details about his relationship with his wife Melania were also revealed in testimony. So while Melania pointedly did not attend the Manhattan court where the trial took place – she was definitely present in proceedings.

At the centre of Trump’s defence was the argument that he had concealed the hush money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels not to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, a crime, but purely to stop Melania from finding out, which would make it a misdemeanour. This meant the nature of the relationship between the former president and first lady was a matter for the jury to consider when making a decision on whether Trump was guilty or not

READ MORE: What key witnesses said at Trump trial as he’s found guilty

Some of the most lurid testimony came from Stormy Daniels, pictured here in 2018 in West Hollywood
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AFP via Getty Images)

As such, several witnesses were called to speak on Trump’s marriage to Melania. What emerged was a picture of a married couple who slept in separate bedrooms, and seemingly lived separate lives. Some testimony painted Trump as callous regarding his wife, but he also was shown as trusting, and valuing her opinion.

Hope Hicks, his former communications director, said Trump did appear concerned about Melania learning of an alleged affair. When the Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that a hush money payment had been made to another woman in November 2016, she described how Trump asked that newspapers not be delivered to their residence.

“I don’t think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed by anything that was happening on the campaign,” she said. Madeleine Westerhout, his personal secretary, also recalled how he would tell her to call the first lady when he was president, “To let her know that he was running late,” Westerhout said, at Trump’s trial. “Like: ‘Honey, I’m going to be late for dinner.’” It was “just like any other marriage”.

Other witnesses offered a less rosy picture of their marriage, however. Michael Cohen described a conversation with Trump in which the former president considered how Melania might react to allegations that he had slept with an adult actress a year after they were married. “Don’t worry,” Trump said, according to Cohen, “How long do you think I will be on the market for? Not long.”

Melania remained at home in Florida during the trial
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Getty Images)

However, other parts of Cohen’s testimony seemed to indicate Trump trusted his wife and took her advice. When a recording of Trump emerged in October 2016, in which he could be heard boasting of grabbing women by the genitals, Cohen recalled that Trump told him: “We needed to put a spin on this” by saying that it was just “locker-room talk”.

Cohen said this angle was “something Melania had recommended,” in his testimony. “Or at least, he told me that that’s what Melania thought it was.”

David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer, said in his testimony that Trump would worry “about Melania” and what his daughter Ivanka might make of any negative stories that surfaced. However after he began his run for president Trump’s concern was “basically what would be the impact to the campaign, or election”, Pecker said.

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When adult actress and director Stormy Daniels took the stand she had a lot to say about the president, including recalling a moment in his hotel suite where she said he showed her a picture of Melania. She said: “I actually said she is very beautiful. What about your wife? He said: ‘Oh, don’t worry about that. We actually don’t even sleep in the same room.’”

Stormy said Trump never asked her to keep their affair secret and seemed relaxed about his wife finding out. In the end the jury found Trump guilty on all 34 counts, rejecting the idea that Trump paid the money purely to stop Melania from finding out, instead the prosecution succeeded in convincing them that Trump’s main concern was concealing his affair from voters.

While the trial was underway, Melania stayed far away from the Manhattan court where details of her marriage were being discussed, choosing to remain at home in Florida. But the former first lady has now finally made her way to New York City, arriving in the Big Apple in time for her husband’s guilty verdict.