Her husband is one of the more polarizing figures in U.S. politics today, but Melania Trump said she fell in love with The Donald because of his "amazing mind" and "great energy."
"We are our own people. I'm my own person, he's his own person...I don't want to change him, he doesn't want to change me," she said.
Since her billionaire businessman husband entered the presidential race a little less than a year ago, Melania Trump, 45, has had a limited public role, appearing sparingly on the campaign trail and rarely speaking when she does.
But with her husband fresh off his third early-state win in Nevada, Trump sat for an interview with MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski in which she confronted the torrent of criticism that has come her husband's way.
"It's normal that will come up, we are prepared for that," Trump said after Brzezinski ticked off a list of jabs and names that the Republican presidential frontrunner has been called.
"We have thick skin and we know that people will judge him and people will call names and they don't give him enough credit. From June that he announced, they don't give him enough credit."
Melania Trump was also asked how her husband treats women he works with, given his rhetoric surrounding women, and his high-profile dustup with Fox's Megyn Kelly.
Women in Trump's business, she said, are "treated equal."
"He treats women the same as men. He will tell you what is in his heart, what he thinks," she said. He will not hold it back if you are a woman. You are human. A woman or a man, it's no different."
If Donald Trump is elected president, Melania Trump would become the first first lady born outside the United States since Louisa Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams. She is also Trump's third wife -- Ronald Reagan has been the only divorced U.S. president.
She hasn't been on the campaign trail much, she said, because she's focused on raising the couple’s 9-year-old son, Barron. She told Brzezinski she wants to keep his life "as normal as possible."
"I'm a full time mom and I love it, so I decided not to be on the campaign so much but I support my husband 100%," she said.
Faced with some of her husband's most controversial stances, including his position on immigration, Melania Trump was unwavering in her support.
.@morningmika just asked Melania Trump if her husband has "gone too far" on immigration. Here's how she answered: https://t.co/Aitve4qe8y— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 24, 2016
Melania Trump, who was born in what is now Slovenia, said that she didn't feel Trump "insulted the Mexicans," and that "he didn't talk about everybody, he talked about illegal immigrants."
When Brzezinski pointed out that she herself is an immigrant, asking if Donald Trump had "gone too far," Melania said that she "follow[s] the law."
"I followed the law the way supposed to be, I never thought to stay here without papers," she said.
Trump and her husband don't always see eye-to-eye though, she said.
"Do I agree all the time with him? No I don't and I tell him that," she said when asked about her husband's word-choice. "I tell him my opinions, I tell him what I think. Sometimes he listens, sometimes he don't [sic]."