Donald Trump Jr’s wedding date to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson is being put on hold until his father’s war with Iran is over, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
Just two weeks after Bettina Anderson’s bridal shower at Mar-a-Lago, insiders tell the Daily Mail a lavish, high-profile wedding would be entirely out of step with the conflict playing out in the Middle East.
The shadow of a war started by President Trump has taken its toll on Don Jr’s nuptials to such an extent that the family is now considering a very small and intimate wedding at the White House. But only at the right time, we are told by an insider.
Our revelation follows fever pitch over exactly when the couple – whose relationship was exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail in 2024 – will marry, with some speculating they were ‘racing to the altar’.
‘They will have a celebration at the due time, at the White House. But you know they’re waiting for the right moment because of what’s happening in the world. They want to wait until that settles,’ the inner circle source said.
Asked to clarify if that directly meant the wedding would not take place until the situation with Iran was finished, they added: ‘That is what I believe is happening.
‘They’re waiting and so they may have a very, very intimate, extremely intimate celebration at the White House, just family members. But still, when it’s appropriate. And at the moment it’s not appropriate.
‘If everything sorts itself out and it’s a good time to do it. But not right now.’
Donald Trump Jr and fiancée Bettina Anderson’s lavish wedding plans are now on hold as global tensions mount, insiders tell the Daily Mail
Sources say President Trump’s escalating conflict with Iran has taken a toll on his son’s upcoming nuptials to such an extent that the family is now considering a very small and intimate wedding at the White House
Palm Beach socialite and charity stalwart Anderson, 39, and President Trump’s eldest son Don Jr, 47, became engaged in December, 2025, with the groom-to-be dropping to one knee and popping the question with an eight-carat diamond ring.
It was exactly a year after the Daily Mail’s exclusive photos of the couple holding hands coming out of a restaurant in the ritzy Florida beach town, which confirmed our earlier revelation about them being a newly-minted couple.
The day our pictures were published, the White House suddenly announced Don Jr’s still-official fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle was heading to Greece to become US ambassador.
Earlier talk of the wedding being held at Trump’s now fortress-like Winter White House of Mar-a-Lago was quickly discounted by our source.
‘I know for a fact it’s not taking place there,’ they said. ‘The bridal shower was there, but that’s done. It won’t be repeated there, the wedding at least.’
The fact that the wedding isn’t Palm Beach’s hottest ticket for years will disappoint dozens of socialites in Anderson’s golden circle who may have been expecting an invite.
Bettina stunned at her Enchanted Garden-themed bridal shower at the Trump compound’s ballroom wearing a strapless tea-length white dress with delicate silver floral embroidery on the top.
The bride-to-be paired that with $1,500 satin slingback pumps with a crystal toe by designer Manolo Blahnik.
Just two weeks ago, bride-to-be Bettina Anderson stunned at her shower in a strapless tea–length white dress with delicate silver floral embroidery on the top, paired with $1,500 satin slingback pumps with a crystal toe by designer Manolo Blahnik
The Palm Beach socialite hosted an ‘Enchanted Garden’ bridal shower at Mar-a-Lago before the looming conflict forced a rethink
Photos shared on social media showed the carefully curated details and party favors such as ‘LOVE TRUMPS ALL’ cookies for guests
Don Jr’s sister Ivanka, 44, led the posse of presidential family women attending, including Lara and Tiffany Trump and Don Jr’s golf protege daughter Kai, 18.
Donald Trump’s second wife Marla Maples also enjoyed the celebration, but First Lady Melania, 55, was missing.
At one point, the president’s son dropped in with a massive red floral bouquet and planted a kiss on his future second wife.
Ivanka was so smitten by the bash she posted photos on social media with the caption: ‘Celebrated love, family, and new beginnings at Bettina’s bridal shower this weekend. So grateful to share in this joyous moment.’
Anderson left a comment on the posting, saying: ‘How blessed am I. So grateful for you girls.’
She also later posted photos revealing a sumptuous three-tier cake and gift bags for guests, estimated to have been less than 100.
Clearly floating with the magic of it all, Anderson wrote: ‘Still soaking in how beautiful and special Sunday was. To be surrounded by so many women I love and admire, and feel so grateful to have in my corner, meant more than I can say.
‘@donaldtrumpjr I cannot wait to marry you.’
For months, the couple kept their relationship largely under wraps as Don Jr still officially lived in a $17.5 million waterfront mansion with fiancée Guilfoyle, the 57-year-old former wife of California governor Gavin Newsom.
However, the Daily Mail spotted them in August, 2024, canoodling during an intimate brunch date at The Honor Bar, located in Palm Beach’s swanky Royal Poinciana Plaza.
In what was clearly no business meeting, the society ‘it girl’ was seen reaching over three times to plant a sexy kiss on her new beau’s lips.
In a handful of sweet photos posted by Ivanka, Bettina smiled alongside her new family, which included sisters–in–law Ivanka, Tiffany Trump and Lara Trump, as well as her new niece – Ivanka and Jared Kushner’s daughter, Arabella, 14
‘She seemed totally smitten with Don – and he with her,’ a witness told us at the time.
‘They were definitely on a date. They weren’t exactly making out, but the kisses were romantic and you could tell they were intimate with each other.’
The day after the cozy meal, Don Jr was seen with Guilfoyle as the MAGA Boat Parade passed by their six-bedroom, 11-bathroom home in the high-security Admiral’s Cove community in Jupiter, 20 miles north of Mar-a-Lago.
However, following our story of Don Jr and Anderson at brunch, pals of GOP stalwart Guilfoyle revealed she had been blindsided.
‘Kimberly either didn’t know about Bettina – or didn’t want to know,’ said one. ‘Did she hear whispers that Don Jr was fooling around with someone else? Probably.
‘She’s no fool, but it’s easy to deceive yourself when you’re so committed to someone and believe he’s committed to you.’
Fast forward four months and our exclusive photos showed Don Jr flaunting his new relationship as the couple walked hand in hand from exclusive downtown Palm Beach eatery Buccan as part of her 38th birthday celebrations.
They were incontrovertible proof that the now First Son had moved on from former Fox News commentator Guilfoyle, who eventually took up her top diplomatic role in Athens in November, 2025.
Dressed in a smart blue suit and white shirt open at the neck, Don Jr revealed no compunction about showing off his new flame as they emerged from the restaurant just before 10pm.
The Daily Mail exclusively revealed Don and Bettina were a couple in December, 2024, as we pictured them walking hand in hand after a romantic dinner in Palm Beach, Florida, celebrating her birthday
The couple announced their engagement at the White House holiday party in December
Anderson showed off her flashy new ring while posing alongside her beau and Dr Oz and his wife at the holiday bash
They came out with another couple and he could be heard laughing before they bade the others farewell and headed across the street to his vehicle, totally smitten with each other.
Anderson – wearing loose and flowing black pants with a black vest-like top and clutching a maroon purse with a gold clasp – stayed close to her man as they approached his pickup truck parked directly opposite the restaurant, their fingers interlocked.
At the time, the couple were spending nights at Anderson’s relatively modest $860,000 townhouse in West Palm Beach, a mile from Mar-a-Lago and which she still owns according to property records.
The restaurant outing on a Monday came at the end of an extravagant December weekend of celebration that marked growing acceptance into the Trump fold.
On the Friday she enjoyed a magnificent birthday dinner that included a bottle of 2013 vintage Salon champagne, which typically costs an eye-watering $1,300.
Posting a social media image of the super-expensive fizz being poured by a waiter, she wrote: ‘S is for Spoiled’.
And in a clear reference to her new beau, she added: ‘How sweet it is to be loved by you’, accompanied by the James Taylor song. In a further message, she wrote: ‘IYKYK’, meaning, ‘if you know, you know’.
It was later divulged by Forbes that Anderson’s ring was an eight-carat emerald-cut diamond ring designed by Dallas jeweler Sue Gragg of Sue Gragg Precious Jewels, with experts saying it may have been bigger and more valuable than the one Trump Jr gave Guilfoyle in 2022
Don Jr sent his new love a card saying ‘I think you’re perfect’.
But the piece de resistance of the celebration was an astonishing 19-inch, Y-shaped diamond necklace in 18 carat white gold and with more than 100 jewels weighing a total of 28.27 carats. Similar baubles fetch well over $100,000.
On the Saturday, she was whisked off to Mar-a-Lago by Don Jr to enjoy a balloon-themed cake courtesy of his ex-wife Vanessa, who is now dating troubled golf legend Tiger Woods.
Born in Palm Beach with a twin sister, Anderson’s late father was Harry Loy Anderson who became the youngest bank president in the country when he took the helm of Worth Avenue National Bank at the age of 26.
Mother Inger, 75, still lives in an $11.5million home in an exclusive section of the mega-rich enclave.
Statuesque Bettina co-founded The Paradise Fund with her two brothers Kent and Harry Loy III in 2005. The charity supports children worldwide through humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
She attended Palm Beach Day School followed by St Andrew’s School in nearby Boca Raton where fees are more $72,000 for the most senior boarders.
Next it was a BA in Art History, Criticism and Conservation from Columbia in New York City, where she lived for a further three years before returning home and starting her ascent to become an essential part of Palm Beach’s exclusive social circuit – and part of America’s First Family.
