NEW YORK -- During his first term, Donald Trump had already been president for five months when first lady Melania Trump finally moved into the White House. For his second term, she's preparing to arrive on Day 1, according to a recent television interview.

The once and future first lady said that she would move into the White House when her husband's term begins on Jan 20, despite speculation that she would spend a majority of the next four years either in New York City or Palm Beach, Florida, where the family's Mar-a-Lago estate is located.

"I will be in the White House," she said during the appearance on "Fox & Friends." "And, you know, when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife. And once we are in on Jan 20, you serve the country."

"Forgoing life in the White House would have been a striking departure from her predecessors, who moved into the executive mansion with their families even though some of them later spent significant time away while their husbands were in office," reported USA Today on Tuesday.

Historians and other experts on the nation's first ladies point out the role of the president's spouse has evolved over the years and that, in an era when millions of Americans are working remotely, the first lady doesn't need to be planted permanently at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to fulfill her obligations, it added.