New York, Nov 9 (IANS): First Lady Melania Trump is planning to divorce President Donald Trump, British media outlet Daily Mail has reported quoting a former White House aide.
The newspaper said that according to Omarosa Manigault Newman, "Melania is counting every minute until he is out of office and she can divorce."
She added that "if Melania were to try to pull the ultimate humiliation and leave while he's in office, he would find a way to punish her", the tabloid said.
It said that according to Newman, the first couple's marriage is over.
Melania Trump, a Slovenian model, is Donald Trump's third wife and they have one son, Barron, who is 14 years old.
Melania Trump, who came down with Covid-19, cancelled one election campaign meeting with Trump after her recovery, leading to questions about the status of their relationship as well as her health.
But she addressed campaign meetings in North Carolina on the final days before the election.
Newman, a reality TV star, was a senior adviser to Trump and director for the office of public liaison before she was fired by Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly.
In a show of solidarity with Trump, Melania tweeted on Sunday: "The American people deserve fair elections. Every legal - not illegal - vote should be counted. We must protect our democracy with complete transparency."
Politico said that despite the tweet, she has "been urging the president to think seriously about an exit strategy".
Quoting sources that it said were briefed on the discussions between them, Politico said that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had joined her in making the request to Trump.
CNN also reported quoting anonymous sources that Melania told Trump, "The time has come for him to accept the election loss."
Media has declared Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden the winner in the presidential election while the counts are still continuing and Trump's lawyers are contesting the conduct of the election. The results have not been officially announced with the completion of counting of postal ballots in several states and the possibility of a recount in at least one state.
Stephanie Wolkoff, who was either fired or resigned from the post of senior adviser to Melania Trump, published a book, "Melania and Me", that she said was on secretly recorded conversations with her.
She had written that Melania refused to move to the White House from their New York apartment till Trump signed an agreement assuring a share of the family wealth to their son Barron, who unlike Trump's children from earlier marriages is not involved in his businesses as he is a minor.
Melania moved to the White House five months after Trump became president and Wolkoff asserted that they had separate bedrooms.
She also said that Melania had cried when Trump was elected President.
Melania married Trump in 2005.
Trump's first wife was a Czech model, Ivana, with whom he had three children Donald, Jr., Eric and Ivanka during their marriage of 15 years.
He and second wife Marla Maples, an actress, had a daughter, Tiffany during their six years of married life.