Alert – Star of Netflix hit show The Hunting Wives reveals White House figure who inspired her notorious character

The star of Netflix’s new drama The Hunting Wives revealed how she manifested her scheming, scandal-soaked character.

In an interview, Malin Akerman said the show’s creative team gave her one clear point of reference when building the role of Margo, the manipulative, politically-connected Texas housewife at the center of murder, adultery, and deception.

The character was modeled on First Lady Melania Trump.

‘During filming, [the creative team] described Margo as a bit like Melania Trump, someone who “came into a marriage to this rich man as one woman,” then finds the expectations for her have shifted once he becomes politically ambitious,’ Åkerman told Vulture. 

‘That was the only reference, really.’ 

Akerman’s character, a Texas housewife married to a governor hopeful, hides a sordid past of poverty, sex work, and a trail of lovers. 

Her storyline in the eight-part series involves an abortion after a fling with a high-school student, a murder to cover it up, and an ongoing affair with newcomer Sophie, played by Brittany Snow.

Malin Akerman revealed her scheming, scandal-soaked character in the hit drama The Hunting Wives was modeled in part on First Lady Melania Trump. Pictured, Brittany Snow, left, and Malin Akerman in The Hunting Wives on Netflix

Melania Trump has kept a far lower profile so far during her husband’s second term

‘During filming, [the creative team] described Margo as a bit like Melania Trump, someone who “came into a marriage to this rich man as one woman.”‘ Malin Akerman is seen center

Those secrets threaten to unravel when her husband launches a campaign built on ‘a pro-gun, anti-abortion, happy-marriage platform.’ 

Akerman – who was born in Sweden and raised in Canada – also drew on her own encounters with the upper crust to flesh out Margo’s razor-sharp social instincts.

‘It’s just high society,’ she said. ‘I’ve mingled with aristocrats and high-society people and seen the games that go into it. For lack of a better word, I wouldn’t say “authenticity” is how those people lead.’

The revelation about Margo’s political muse comes as The Hunting Wives cements itself as one of the most provocative shows on television. 

Described by writer Rebecca Cutler as a project she was in ‘awe of… [for] its flagrant horniness,’ the show compares to Disney’s Rivals for sheer sexual heat – with some viewers claiming ‘every single scene ends with someone having sex or masturbating.’

Adapted from May Cobb’s bestselling erotic thriller, the series mixes murder mystery with erotic drama, unflinching in its depictions of full-frontal nudity, same-sex encounters, and messy, no-holds-barred passion. 

‘I’ve mingled with aristocrats and high-society people and seen the games that go into it. For lack of a better word, I wouldn’t say “authenticity” is how those people lead,’ Akerman said

In the series, protagonist Sophie O’Neill (Brittany Snow) relocates from Boston to the fictional Texas town of Maple Brook, where she joins an exclusive group of gun-toting MAGA women dubbed The Hunting Wives

Critics have compared it to Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives, but with far more explicit scenes. 

Forbes reviewer Dana Feldman said there hadn’t been a ‘book-to-screen adaptation this salacious’ since Fifty Shades of Grey. 

In one scene that alludes to the sexual politics, Margo says: ‘Open marriages are for liberals, Jed and I have an arrangement.’ 

Melania Trump, meanwhile, has kept a lower profile so far during her husband’s second term in office. 

But she has also shown she is willing to push back forcefully against false or defamatory claims.

Just last week, her lawyer compelled Democratic strategist James Carville and his Politics War Room podcast to delete and edit comments about her that linked her early modeling career to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Hunting Wives is also adapted from a bestselling book and features several sex scenes that are guaranteed to set pulses racing. Pictured: Malin Ackerman and Brittany Snow (right) as Margo and Sophie in The Hunting Wives 

The Netflix series has been described as ‘where every single scene ends with someone having sex or masturbating’ and set to challenge Rivals as the sexiest show on TV

Last week, Melania’s lawyer compelled Democratic strategist James Carville and his Politics War Room podcast to delete and edit comments about her that linked her early modeling career to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

‘After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer,’ Carville told listeners. 

‘He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady. We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize.’

Akerman’s revelation about Melania as an inspiration for Margo comes as The Hunting Wives cements itself as one of Netflix’s most talked-about new dramas. 

Based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel and picked up by Netflix after its original home, Starz, dropped the project, the series debuted July 21 and became an instant streaming hit.