How did Donald Trump propose to Melania Trump?

1. The moment: a public, glamorous proposal at the Met Gala

Multiple timeline accounts identify the Met Gala in 2004 — specifically the “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century” event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art — as where Donald Trump proposed to Melania Knauss, intentionally using a high-fashion, highly photographed social setting for the proposal ^{[1] [3]}. News retrospectives frame the gala as “the lavish backdrop” for the engagement and note that the proposal surprised Melania, who later described it as “a great surprise” ^{[1] [2]}.

2. The ring and its valuations: what contemporaneous sources reported

Reporting that’s been cited in profiles says the engagement involved a very large diamond ring — commonly reported as about 15 carats and valued around $1.5 million — with Business Insider noting that The New York Times reported Trump obtained the ring “at half price” ^[2]. Timelines and celebrity outlets have repeated that description when summarizing the engagement ^{[2] [3]}.

3. How this fits into their relationship timeline

The Met Gala proposal is presented in multiple retrospectives as the key event after years of an on-and-off courting period that began when the couple met in 1998; they married about a year after the engagement, in January 2005 at Mar-a-Lago ^{[2] [3]}. Timeline stories from Today and magazine outlets place the engagement in context: an initial meeting in 1998, a brief breakup in 2000, renewed courtship, and then the 2004 Met Gala engagement leading to the 2005 wedding ^{[1] [3]}.

4. Sources’ perspectives and consistency

Profiles and timelines from outlets like Today, Business Insider, Hello!, and celebrity magazines consistently cite the Met Gala account and the surprise nature of the proposal; Business Insider supplies the most specific detail about the ring and cites The New York Times for valuation and purchase price claims ^{[1] [2] [3]}. These pieces align on the basic facts (Met Gala proposal, surprise, large ring, marriage in 2005) though they differ in depth and emphasis — some prioritize the glamour of the moment, others the financial/transactional detail about the ring ^{[1] [2]}.

5. What the provided sources do not say or confirm

Available sources do not mention a blow‑by‑blow account of the interaction (exact words said, whether it was on one knee, who else was aware at the moment) beyond describing it as a surprise at the Met Gala ^{[1] [2]}. They also do not provide direct first‑person contemporaneous transcripts from Melania or Donald of the proposal moment in the provided excerpts; later characterizations and valuation claims trace to secondary reporting ^[2].

6. Competing narratives and why they matter

While mainstream timelines converge, celebrity press and tabloids sometimes add color or variants (for example, different emphases on when they began dating or whether other events preceded the proposal), but the core assertion of a Met Gala proposal and a very large diamond ring remains the dominant narrative in the sources provided ^{[1] [3] [2]}. Readers should note that ring valuations and purchase anecdotes (like “half price”) come via citations to other outlets and are not primary financial records ^[2].

7. Takeaway for readers seeking certainty

If you need a concise, sourced answer: the engagement occurred at the 2004 Met Gala, portrayed as a surprise proposal with a reported 15‑carat ring later valued around $1.5 million; this account is consistently presented across timelines and profiles cited here ^{[1] [2]}. For granular, first‑hand detail about the exact words or choreography of the proposal, the available reporting in these sources does not provide that level of primary evidence ^{[1] [2]}.