Lara Trump has built a career in television and politics, but her path to becoming part of one of America’s most recognizable families began with a chance meeting in 2008.
When Lara first met Eric Trump through mutual friends, she says she didn’t know his last name or who his father was. What she did notice was his height.
“I just knew I met some really tall guy out,” she recalled on her podcast, The Right View.
The two began dating a few months later and married six years after their first meeting. They have since welcomed two children, son Eric “Luke” Trump Jr. and daughter Carolina Dorothy Trump.
From a first meeting to a Florida wedding
Born Lara Lea Yunaska on October 12, 1982, in Wilmington, North Carolina, Lara grew up in nearby Wrightsville Beach. She met Eric in 2008, and the couple became engaged in July 2013.
They exchanged vows on November 8, 2014, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. But in the weeks leading up to the ceremony, Lara faced an unexpected challenge: A horseback riding accident left her with two broken wrists.
She told People that her wedding planner and designer found a way to incorporate the casts into her bridal look, creating embellished gloves to help them blend in.
Lara wore a Vera Wang ball gown for the ceremony and changed into a drop-waist corset gown for the reception.
Life together as a family of four
Eric and Lara welcomed their son, Luke, on September 12, 2017. Their daughter, Carolina, followed on August 20, 2019.
In an interview with The Conservateur, Lara spoke about balancing motherhood with her work and said the experience had given her a new sense of empowerment.
“I never imagined that the old me before kids would feel as empowered in womanhood as a mom,” she said.
People reported that the family lived in Westchester, New York, where Eric had proposed. They initially lived on the grounds of Donald Trump’s Seven Springs estate before moving to a property near the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor.
Lara told Westchester Magazine in 2018 that she had been unfamiliar with the area when Eric first brought her there, but soon understood its importance to him. “It’s the greatest thing for me, too,” she said.
A career spanning television and politics
Before joining the Trump family, Lara studied communications at North Carolina State University, graduating with honors. She later graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York and worked as a pastry chef and personal trainer.
She was also a producer for Inside Edition when she met Eric. Lara eventually left the program to focus on advising Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
She went on to serve as an adviser during his 2020 campaign and joined Fox News as a paid contributor in March 2021. Her first stint with the network ended in December 2022, after Donald announced his 2024 presidential campaign.
In 2021, Lara also considered running for a U.S. Senate seat in her home state of North Carolina. She ultimately decided against a campaign at the time, saying she wanted to focus on her young children.
“I am saying no for now, not no forever,” she said at the North Carolina Republican state convention.
Lara later took on a leadership position in the Republican Party. After Donald endorsed her, she was elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee in March 2024. She resigned from the role in December of that year.
In February 2025, The New York Times reported that Lara would return to Fox News to host a weekend show, My View with Lara Trump. The program was scheduled to debut on February 22, marking another chapter in a career that has taken her from television production to national politics and back to the screen.
