Donald Trump faces potential criminal charges over hush money payments made while he was a presidential candidate, and it all revolves around Stormy Daniels.
The former stripper, adult film star, and current pop culture staple has claimed for years that she had an affair with the disgraced president back in 2006. During his first run for president in 2016, Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to silence Daniels about the affair, but the origin of those funds came into question following Trump’s election.
The years since have seen the issue gradually escalate, before landing Trump in a lengthy criminal trial. Daniels herself recently took the bench in the ongoing proceedings, and her return to the spotlight is reminding people of just how much power this one individual holds. She might just hold the future of our presidency — maybe even our country — in her hands, as she helps the courts to determine if Trump is truly guilty of the 34 State of New York felony charges he currently faces.
Trump’s been attending court and addressing potential charges for falsifying business records since April 15, 2024, and the case’s proximity to Daniels is hauling the 45-year-old back into the spotlight. She’d managed to retreat from the public eye following Trump’s 2020 loss, but the court case is reigniting questions about the former adult film star. Outside of the salacious story currently occupying much of the nation, Daniels is just a person. She’s an equestrian, a wife, a mother, and a woman just trying to put this entire ordeal behind her.
Stormy Daniels’ family
Nearly a decade after she concluded her alleged affair with Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels grew her family by one. She’s been married several times over the years — though, unlike Trump, she was unwed during the affair — but it wasn’t until the mid-2010s that she welcomed her little girl into the world.
Daniels connected with fellow adult film star Brendon Miller following several failed marriages. She and Miller tied the knot in 2015, and soon after welcomed little Caden Crain into their family. Miller and Daniels were fated to a short-lived marriage as well, ultimately divorcing in 2018, but it seems Daniels may have found Caden’s perma-father in 2022.
That’s when she married another adult film peer, Barrett Blade. Their marriage is still relatively fresh, but it seems to be going strong, which is great news for a family already tested by massive scrutiny. Little Caden deserves peace, something she likely won’t achieve until Trump’s trial concludes, but at least she’ll grow up knowing that her mother stood up for the truth, and maybe saved a nation in the process.