Melania Trump is supporting her husband former President Donald Trump as he continues his bid to win another term as president next year, even to the point of praising his administration’s accomplishments.

But the former first lady felt betrayed and disappointed by friends, aides, and some of he own family members, and that led her to avoid the public eye, The New York Times reported.

Plus, Melania’s relationship with her stepdaughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner was often a strained one, per the Times.

Then there were those books written by Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s former press secretary, and her former friend and ex-aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, which weren’t always flattering to the first lady.

Grisham, in her memoir I’ll Take Your Questions Now, scathingly indicted the Trump administration and said that after she left her post following January 6’s unrest she received a note from Melania that was “vague and cold.”

Wolkoff’s book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady, also painted Melania in a poor light.

“Her selfishness is so deep, it enables her to keep her distance from the rest of the world,” Wolkoff wrote regarding Melania in her book.

Per the Times report, it’s clear why Melania retreated from view since once-trusted friends described her in pretty harsh terms, and she’s maintained that privacy as the 2024 presidential campaign heats up. So far she hasn’t joined her husband on the campaign trail this year, but she is poised to be a more visible presence in the coming year.

Trump is still considered the frontrunner in the Republican primary, with national polls reporting he is well ahead of candidates that include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. However, many state polls are closer, reflecting the growing competitiveness of the race in early-voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

So who knows? We may see Melania on the campaign trail next year. And that will really be kind of surprising since she’s the very definition of an introvert. But having written about the former first lady for so long, I’m pretty sure she’d rather stay out of the game, which shows every likelihood of being a nasty one.

Can’t really blame her for that. She’d probably rather stick to grifting since she seems to excel at that.