Donald Trump Says Melania's Mother Is 'Very Ill' amid Her Absence from Festivities

During an event at Mar-a-Lago, the former president said, "Melania—great First Lady, so popular, the people love her—she's now in a hospital with her mother"

Donald Trump used his New Year's Eve event at Mar-a-Lago to acknowledge his wife Melania's recent absences from family gatherings, telling the crowd she was taking care of her mother, "who is very ill."

Sources tell PEOPLE that the former first lady was absent from the festivities, with video footage showing that, when the former president spoke to attendees, he announced: "Melania—great First Lady, so popular, the people love her—she's now in a hospital with her mother. Her mother, Amalija, is very ill, but hopefully she'll be recovering."

Trump, 77, continued: "But she's been very ill, so I just want to say 'hello' to the First Lady—we just spoke, down in Miami, great hospital—and hopefully they'll be ok, but it's a tough one, it's a very tough one. She knows probably about 95% of the people in this room. We just want to wish Amalija that she gets better as quickly as possible.”

Trump's comments come as Melania was also noticeably absent from a Trump family Christmas photo taken in December which featured nearly every other member of the family, including  Ivanka Trump  and her husband Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump, Barron Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Eric Trump, and his wife, Lara, were not featured in the photo but did attend the New Year's event.

Related: Melania Trump Makes Rare Public Appearance at National Archives to Welcome New U.S. Citizens

Melania's mother, Amalija Knavs, 78, and her father, Viktor Knavs, 79, have both been living at Mar-a-Lago in recent years, where her daughter and the former president also reside.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.

Since leaving the White House in 2021, Melania has been continuing on with her life at the couple's Palm Beach home, even as myriad legal issues loom over her husband.

"Melania is leading her own life, and still feels happy being at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by people who love her and who never talk about reality, or bad things about her husband," a social source told PEOPLE last year.

The source told PEOPLE that Melania and Donald live in separate quarters of their Mar-a-Lago estate, though the two are still often spotted eating dinner together or attending events at the private club.

"She does very well with all of her socializing duties," the source said. "They still see friends for dinner at the club, but live separately and do what they want on their own. They don't spend that much time together."

The source adds that Melania spends much of her time at Mar-a-Lago with she and the former president's 17-year-old son, Barron.

"Barron is a sweet boy who has a loving family around him," the source told PEOPLE earlier. "He is older now and handsome. His mom is protective of him but he is free around Mar-a-Lago. They are low-key with their socializing."

Related: Melania Trump Makes Rare Public Appearance at National Archives to Welcome New U.S. Citizens

The former first lady has rarely ventured out in public since her husband left office, making her first official appearance in November, when she attended Rosalynn Carter's memorial service alongside the other living first ladies.

She made another appearance last month, when she served as a special guest at a naturalization ceremony for new American citizens held in the rotunda of the National Archives’ headquarters.

A source told PEOPLE earlier this year that Melania — who has been noticeably absent from the 2024 campaign trail, and her husband's court appearances — has been eager to keep her head down and continue leading "her own life."

“Melania publicly supports her husband but privately prefers a life with 100 percent privacy and no press scrutiny,” the source told PEOPLE.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.