Melania Trump's former advisor reveals how she thinks the former first lady is reacting to the verdict and whether she will be at the July 11 sentencing

Melania Trump has been silent in the wake of Donald Trump's conviction but one of her top former advisers predicts she wasn't surprised by her husband's behavior.

'Melania knew exactly who she married. She knew that this was a transactional marriage. She became a top model. He became a loving doting father, and it set them up for their win for the White House,' Stephanie Winston Wolkoff told CNN.

Wolkoff worked with Melania in the White House in the early years of the Trump administration. The two had a friendship going back to their New York days but fell out during Trump's presidency. They no longer speak and Wolkoff wrote a tell-all memoir about her time with the Trumps.

'I think she's telling him exactly how she feels,' Wolkoff predicted of the former first lady.

She also said she expects to see Melania at her husband's July 11th sentencing, acting as a 'distraction.' 

'I do believe she will show up and it will be the art of distraction. It will shine a bright light on Melania when it's needed the most, when other things are happening in Donald's life needs to be shaded,' she said. 

'I do believe she will show up and it will be the art of distraction,' Stephanie Winston Wolkoff told CNN's Abby Phillips when asked if Melania will show up at Trump's July 11 sentencing

It's unclear where Melania Trump is located. This time of year the Trump family is usually camped out at their place on the former president's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. 

Mar-a-Lago is closed for the season but Melania has private rooms there she could stay in. Or she could be at Trump Tower in New York. Or she could be anywhere.

Melania's office did not respond to DailyMail.com's repeated requests for comment.

And it's unclear when she may be seen again. 

Meanwhile Trump will be sentenced four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he will formally accept the GOP presidential nomination.

It's unclear if Melania will attend the convention or address it as she did in 2016 and 2020. Barron Trump was originally selected as a delegate from Florida but Melania later announced he would not be serving as one due to 'prior commitments.'

She did not elaborate on what those commitments were. Barron Trump graduated from high school earlier this month. The Trumps have not said where he will go to college or what his future plans are.

The former first lady has been silent throughout the trial. 

She and son Barron are the only members of the Trump to either not appear in court with the former president or to post supportive messages on social media.

Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany all made courtroom appearances. Ivanka Trump posted a four-word message on Instagram Thursday night in support of her father: 'I love you dad.' 

Melania Trump was last seen in public with her husband on May 17 at their son Barron's graduation; Melania's father Viktor (left) also attended

Stephanie Winston Wolkoff and Melania Trump became friends in New York

Trump was convicted on charges related to a pay off to porn star Stormy Daniels (above), who claimed to have an affair with Trump

But the hush-money trial - in which Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records - involved her husband paying off porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her during the 2016 election over claims of an affair.

Trump denies sleeping with Daniels, who claimed it happened back in 2006, shortly after Melania had given birth to Barron.

But Trump's fixer at the time, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 during the election to keep her quiet about the story.

When the payment was revealed in 2017, Melania was said to be blind sided.

She let her feelings be known by canceling on Trump, refusing to go with him to the World Economic Forum in Davos even though she was scheduled to attend. Instead she decamped behind the walls of Mar-a-Lago, their Palm Beach estate. 

But Melania Trump was believed to be following the media coverage of the trial.  She also, however, was believed to see it as her husband's problem and not hers.

She was last seen in public with Donald Trump on May 17th, when their son Barron Trump graduated from high school.