A New York Post columnist moved quickly to extinguish dating speculation involving President Trump’s youngest son after an X post, now deleted, suggested the two were an item.
Rikki Schlott, 25, posted a blunt three-word denial on Wednesday, April 15, 2026: “That’s a no.” The journalist was responding to claims she’s romantically linked to Barron Trump, 20, who currently attends New York University’s Stern School of Business.
OK! Magazine first spotlighted her response, which triggered a flood of reactions across social media. Some users told Schlott that Barron “is out of her league,” while others wrote, “You would be so lucky.” More supportive commenters defended the columnist, calling her “too smart and pretty for him.” One person quipped, “I bet you wish you were? lol.”
The speculation appears to have originated from a pair of loose connections. Both Schlott and Barron have NYU ties — she studied history there before leaving during the pandemic and eventually transferring to Columbia University. Additionally, Schlott once described Barron as “hunky” in a December 2024 article, a detail that The Mirror US reported apparently kept the rumor alive more than a year later.
A dramatic incident earlier this year revealed that Barron had developed a “very close” online relationship with a British woman he’d met through social media. On Jan. 18, 2025, the woman’s then-boyfriend, Matvei Rumiantsev, drunkenly assaulted her after growing jealous of her friendship with the president’s son. During the attack, Rumiantsev answered a FaceTime call from Barron and turned the camera to show the woman crying on the floor.
Barron immediately called 999, Britain’s emergency number, telling the operator: “I’m calling from the US. I just got a call from a girl… she’s getting beat up.” Police arrived and arrested Rumiantsev. At trial in London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court in January 2026, Rumiantsev — a Russian national and trained MMA fighter — described Barron as “quite persistent” and said he was “jealous to some extent” of the friendship. A jury convicted him of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Jan. 28, and he was later sentenced to four years in prison.
Media reports have hinted at Barron’s popularity on campus. A source told People in late 2024: “He’s really popular with the ladies. He’s tall and handsome. A lot of people seem to think he’s pretty attractive — yes, even liberal people like him.” NewsNation reported in May 2025 that “Barron has a really nice girlfriend and hangs out with her a lot.”
Barron started at NYU’s Stern School of Business in September 2024 after finishing his studies at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach. President Trump, 79, discussed the decision at the time, saying, “I went to Wharton, and that was certainly one that we were considering. We didn’t do that. We went for Stern.”
First Lady Melania Trump, 55, weighed in during a December 2024 appearance on “Fox & Friends,” saying she didn’t think it was “possible” for her son to be a “normal student” given his family’s profile — though she added she was very proud of him.
While initial reports suggested Barron occupied an entire floor at Trump Tower, he’s now based in Washington, D.C., with his parents and continues his studies through NYU’s Washington campus.
Beyond his academic pursuits, Barron is entering the business world. Business filings in Florida and Delaware from January show he’s listed as one of five directors in Sollos Yerba Mate Inc. The brand, SOLLOS Yerba Mate, was initially slated for an April launch before being pushed back to May 2026, with its debut product already teased on LinkedIn: a 12-pack in Pineapple + Coconut.
The venture has not been without controversy. SOLLOS’s Instagram page was flooded with critical comments ahead of the May launch, with some users accusing the brand of cultural appropriation, arguing that yerba mate is a drink deeply rooted in Indigenous Guaraní and South American culture.
As the Irish Star noted, very little is publicly known about his personal life — and based on Schlott’s April 15 response, Schlott has made clear she wants no part of continued speculation.