8 of the biggest takeaways from a new book on Melania Trump that reveal her fashion, strategy, and life inside the White House

First lady Melania Trump has an icy relationship with second lady Karen Pence.

Bennett wrote that on a trip to Corpus Christi, Texas, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the first lady had not invited Pence to her spacious private cabin at the front of the plane, or Pence didn't accept an invitation. Trump also didn't remove her four-inch heels when the two landed and towered "almost comically" over the second lady, who was in flats.

This "confirmed" Bennett's suspicions the two weren't close, as Trump, who stands at 5 feet 11 inches, usually wears a low heel or flat when appearing alongside someone shorter or in lower shoes. The incident was not only uncharacteristic, Bennett wrote that it struck her as "strange and telling" about their relationship.

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The jacket was that it was a jab directed at the president's oldest daughter and White House adviser, Ivanka.

"I believed, and still do, that the jacket was a facetious jab at Ivanka and her near-constant attempts to attach herself for positive administration talking points," Bennett wrote.

Bennett also describes the first lady's relationship with Ivanka as "cordial, not close," and the adviser's near-constant presence around her father in the White House as frustrating to the one person Bennett writes can speak without reservation to the president.

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Overall, there are no coincidences when it comes to the first lady's fashion choices.

Whether it's the "I don't really care" jacket or the pink pussy-bow blouse Melania wore to an October 2016 debate after the release of an audiotape in which then-candidate Trump bragged about grabbing women's genitals, Bennett writes that though the specific message being sent by garments that spark theories may be unclear, any apparent significance isn't an accident.

"Having covered her for as long as I have, each thing she does has meaning to it, even the clothing she wears," Bennett writes.

She also speculates that there are some patterns to Melania's choices, as with her "theory that when the Trumps are unhappy with each other, Melania wears menswear — because Trump notoriously likes to see women in tight, short, ubersexy and feminine dresses."

The first lady doesn't only have her own room, but occupies an entirely separate floor of the White House from her husband.

The book says the president sleeps in the master bedroom on the second level of the White House residence while the first lady stays on the third floor in a two-room space that was previously occupied by former First Lady Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson.

Alongside her bedroom is a "glam room," for Trump to do her daily hair and makeup and a private gym with a Pilates machine.

Bennett notes that this makes the Trumps the first couple since the Kennedys and the Johnsons to have separate bedrooms in the residence.

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Despite her usually steely demeanor, Melania is friendly and down to earth.

Friends told Bennett that Melania's straight face that can be seen at many of her public appearances is a result of her Slovenian upbringing, and despite some public perception that she is cold or stiff, Melania is a warm friend and notably sends White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham text emojis to "convey her happiness, disappointment or surprise."

Despite White House statements minimizing the stay at the time, Melania's secret hospital trip was a serious medical intervention.

Bennett cites a trusted source, writing that the first lady's five-day stint for an embolization procedure at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, DC, in June 2018 was "not minor" and "made for a dangerous and complicated procedure."

"Couple that with the amount of pain she had apparently been in, according to close friends, and how long she had been in pain prior to the surgery, and there was concern that if her recuperation was not careful and extended, her type of condition could possibly result in the loss of her kidney," Bennett writes.

Her widely ridiculed childhood wellness program, Be Best, is not really a thing.

Trump unveiled the campaign in May 2018, and has traveled in its name to schools, wellness centers, and even throughout an African tour in its name.

However, Bennett writes that "to this day it has no publicly stated framework, timeline or markers for progress…The likelihood that it will ever have the impact of Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign or Nancy Reagan's Just Say No is slim to none."

Ultimately, Melania has more power in the administration than most people credit her with.

Bennett writes that since Trump embarked on an exhaustive campaign, Melania kept her distance and only participated in events and appearances that she selected, a far more curated agenda than is typical of political spouses.

Instead of following the typical pattern of a campaign wife-turned-first lady, Melania "leads by her intuition," unapologetically bending the president's ear and expressing her opinions like no one else can.

Her "rule-breaking" time as first lady offers a perfect complement to Trump's "rule-breaking presidency," Bennett writes.