Melania Trump Is 'Very Protective' of Barron, 17, and Spends Little Time Making Friends at Mar-a-Lago: Sources

As Donald Trump faces the possibility of being indicted, his wife, Melania Trump, is leaning on her family — particularly her parents and her 17-year-old son, Barron — in Palm Beach.

The former first lady isn't known to have a close group of friends, and sources say that's nothing new. One New York socialite who knew Melania before she married Donald recalls an instance a long time ago when a gossip columnist suggested she try and grow close to the then-model.

"I remember a group of us were chatting and a high-profile gossip columnist was with us who said, 'Oh, Melania is over there. We should all go talk to her because she is probably going to marry Donald,'" the socialite tells PEOPLE. "Melania was just one of the girls then, and we all knew her as that. But none of us really knew her then or now."

Even since her husband was elected president, Melania, now 52, has been known as a woman who keeps to herself, preferring to spend time with family rather than rubbing elbows in social circles or giving interviews to the press.

"Melania's friends are her family members," a Palm Beach source tells PEOPLE. "Many Mar-a-Lago Club members and others know and see Melania. But they aren't friends. They don't get together and gab or socialize. She has always surrounded herself with family. She is a doting mother to Barron and very protective of him. This is nothing new."

As the Trumps await a possible indictment of the 76-year-old former president over an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016, those familial relationships haven't changed.

"Barron has always been a first priority in [Melania's] life," the source says. "Of course she is worried and concerned about the legal issues but she has not done anything more to protect Barron now than she ever did. She has always put him first. She is a good mother."

The source adds that Melania's parents, who live at the Trump family property in Mar-a-Lago near the former first lady, "are also close to Barron and have been instrumental in his rearing."

In the quiet setting of the members' only club in Palm Beach, the former first family is, in a sense, shielded from many of the legal and political issues facing the former president.

"They live in a fairy tale world and just deal with things as they come and seem to survive pretty well," the source says. "They do what is possible to get past the problems without disrupting their lifestyle."

Even Donald, another source adds, hasn't changed his daily routine in Palm Beach, where he was spotted having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club as recently as last Friday.

According to other sources, Melania is continuing on with her life at the couple's Palm Beach home, despite the legal issues looming over her husband stemming from an alleged affair with Daniels in 2006.

"Melania is leading her own life, and still feels happy being at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by people who love her and who never talk about reality, or bad things about her husband," a social source told PEOPLE earlier.

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But that doesn't mean she's supportive of her husband's role in the alleged hush money payment, which stems from a rumored extramarital affair that the former porn star has claimed took place less than four months after Melania gave birth to the couple's son, Barron, in 2006.

"She remains angry and doesn't want to hear [the alleged hush money payment] mentioned," the source tells PEOPLE. "She is aware of who her husband is and keeps her life upbeat with her own family and a few close friends."

A spokesperson for Melania did not respond to PEOPLE's requests for comment.