A new book chronicling the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term claims the president and First Lady Melania Trump sleep in separate rooms inside the White House — and that Donald Trump has been waging what one writer described as a decorating “arms race” with the goal of claiming the superior bedroom. Published on June 23, 2026, the report has renewed persistent questions about where the couple sleeps and the nature of their marriage, which multiple biographers have called “complicated.”
According to reporting from New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” Melania Trump reportedly occupies the master bedroom while the president uses what was previously a living room. The president, known for posting on social media late into the night, is said to be intent on obtaining the superior quarters. These details contribute new specifics to a living situation that appears unconventional, though the executive mansion provides considerable room. The White House contains 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, and six levels, giving the first couple ample space for separate quarters.
A Reported Decorating ‘Arms Race’
The book claims President Trump was “determined to have the better room” and engaged in what Times writer Will Pavia called a decorating competition. According to one account, Trump took ornamental gold items his wife had placed in a corridor and moved them into his quarters to be surrounded by them at night. Pavia likened the conduct to “a magpie nesting with bottletops.”
These are far from the first reports about the couple keeping distinct sleeping arrangements. Author Michael Wolff made similar claims in his 2018 book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” Wolff described the president as finding the White House unsettling and said Trump used his own bedroom. Wolff contended this was the first time a presidential couple had separate rooms since the Kennedy administration.
President Trump publicly dismissed that book, calling it “really boring and untruthful” on X, formerly known as Twitter. Still, the pattern of reporting has persisted across multiple accounts and years.
A Delayed Move and Separate Suites
First Lady Melania Trump’s approach to the residence drew attention from the start of the administration. The first lady delayed her move into the Pennsylvania Avenue home for one year after her husband. That decision was widely attributed to her staying in Manhattan’s Upper West Side with her son, Barron Trump, while he finished high school.
Once Barron Trump enrolled at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland and the family officially settled in, the couple’s arrangement reportedly took shape. In her book “Free, Melania,” author Kate Bennett described the president sleeping in the master suite while the first lady maintained her own two-room quarters on the third floor, the same space Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, occupied during the Obama administration.
Biographer Mary Jordan, who interviewed White House staff and housekeepers, has described the marriage in similar terms. Jordan said the pair have been together for 22 years and that the president “is not the easiest person to be with.” Speaking to CNN, Jordan said a real bond exists between them but has changed over the years.
Jordan also emphasized the physical distance in the relationship, noting that despite spending significant time apart, the first call the president often makes after a speech or rally is to the first lady. Jordan described both as loners who appear content to be separated, adding that First Lady Melania Trump rarely enters the West Wing, does not golf, and prefers her own space.
Separate Rooms Abroad, Too
The reported preference for separate quarters reportedly extended to the couple’s travels. During President Trump’s second state visit to the United Kingdom, palace insiders indicated the couple would have their own suites while staying at Windsor Castle on September 17, 2025. Each principal guest suite reportedly came equipped with both a double and single bed — space some reports suggested still was not enough for the couple to share.
The Trumps also reportedly had their own sheets shipped in from the United States for the stay. Separate bedrooms are not unusual at the royal residence, which has more than 1,000 rooms and where the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip kept separate arrangements. The couple held hands after stepping off the Marine One helicopter, arriving alongside Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
The Trumps first met in 1998 and married at a Florida church on January 22, 2005, before guests including Bill and Hillary Clinton, Elton John, and Simon Cowell. It was Donald Trump’s third marriage; he was previously wed to Ivana Zelnickova from 1977 to 1990, with whom he shares Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, and to actress Marla Maples in 1993, with whom he had daughter Tiffany.
Recalling their first encounter, Melania Trump has said she declined to hand over her number because Donald Trump was with a date, instead insisting he give her his. She told Harper’s Bazaar that she was struck by his energy, saying, “He has an amazing sense of vitality.”