Hope Hicks put on a brave face as she headed home to Connecticut on Friday, following the bombshell news that she would be leaving the White House.
Wearing one of her trademark short dresses and thigh-high boots, Hicks was on her way to Greenwich, the town where she first turned heads as an ambitious high schooler and teen model.
And she was saying goodbye to three storm-filled years of working for Donald Trump, the man who picked her from obscurity and thrust her into the center of the most unlikely presidential campaign in history
The 29-year-old’s story has always been that she had somehow accidentally fallen into her post as President Donald Trump’s communications director.
Trump likes to tell how he sought her out, as her political naïveté would be an asset for his long-shot run for the White House.
And Hicks, the well-connected woman with model good looks, would charm reporters and be one of the few people who could keep the then-candidate in check.
But the true story was never quite so simple, DailyMail.com has learned. ‘Hope was always going places,’ the mother of one of her closest childhood friends in her hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut, said.
‘She was quietly determined. She had that steeliness instilled in her by her parents.’
Hope Hicks, 29, packed her bags and headed home to Connecticut on Friday, after the former White House Communications Director announced her resignation on Wednesday. The rise of the brunette beauty was destined, the mother of one of her closest childhood friends in her hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut told DailyMail.com
Hicks (pictured in 2002) was raised in a $2.25 million home in the Cos Cob district of Greenwich — one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in one of the wealthiest towns in America. She was also a successful teen model, posing for Ralph Lauren
The athlete (pictured in 2005) was co-captain of her lacrosse team and eventually helped bring the sport to SMU in Dallas, where she graduated
The political aide’s high school lacrosse uniform had Greenwich emblazoned across the front and plaid skorts. Pictured: Hicks her sophomore year, second row, fourth from left
Now, after three years of life as Trump’s Girl Friday, Hicks is out, another figure chewed up and spit out by the never-ending turmoil in the current Oval Office.
She announced her resignation on Wednesday, a day after admitting in closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee that she had told ‘white lies’ to protect her boss.
Hicks herself had even predicted a life in politics when as a 13-year-old child model she was interviewed by Greenwich Magazine.
At the time, she had her eyes set on the stage. ‘But if the acting thing doesn’t work out, I could really see myself in politics,’ she said.
And with parents who met while they were both working as congressional aides in Washington — her mother for a Democratic congressman, her father for a Republican — it was hardly surprising that she too would end in the corridors of power.
But now, six months before she even celebrates her 30th birthday, Hicks is turning her back on Washington, claiming she wants to spend more time with her family, an excuse normally given by those who at least have children of their own.
Hicks grew up comfortably in a $2.25 million home in the Cos Cob district of Greenwich — one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in one of the wealthiest towns in America.
Her father Paul went on to become head of communications for the NFL after a stint as a local Republican politician, sitting on the Greenwich board of selectmen.
In her high school year book, the senior claimed to quote Jimmy Buffet: ‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,’ she wrote. But that was one of her few missteps. The quote was actually made by Eleanor Roosevelt
Hicks (left as a freshman in high school and right as a junior) attended Greenwich High School, where was involved in extracurricular sports such as lacrosse and swimming
The former model (center) followed her father into public relations after graduating and got work helping with Ivanka Trump’s fashion line
Hope Hicks (pictured in high school), the ultimate Trump right-hand woman, was reportedly berated by the president after she admitted to telling ‘white lies’ for Donald Trump during her testimony to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday
In her senior high school year book, her family made a collage of her childhood (pictured)
Hicks (front row, far left) made the freshman varsity swim team while in high school
She went to Greenwich High School where she was co-captain of the lacrosse team, a sport she helped introduce to Southern Methodist University, when she went on there.
She and her sister Mary Grace both modeled as teens – for Ralph Lauren, Macy’s, Sears, Target and The Limited Too.
She was also the face of the Bantam Books Hourglass series of historical novels for preteen girls. At one stage, there was even a Dress Hope Hicks Doll online.
Hicks also had a small role in the long-running soap opera The Guiding Light, although CBS says it kept no record of any of her appearances.
In her high school year book, she claimed to quote Jimmy Buffet. ‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams,’ she wrote.
But that was one of her few missteps. The quote was actually made by Eleanor Roosevelt.
She followed her father into public relations after graduating and got work helping with Ivanka Trump’s fashion line.
The pretty brunette was a successful teen model, posing for Ralph Lauren (pictured in front of her poster in 2000) and Limited Too
Hicks herself had even predicted a life in politics when as a 13-year-old model she was interviewed by Greenwich Magazine (pictured). At the time, she had her eyes set on the stage. ‘But if the acting thing doesn’t work out, I could really see myself in politics,’ she said
Hope Hicks, a former model, on the cover of a young-adult novel and featured in her hometown magazine in 2002
As a child, Hicks was also the face of the Bantam Books Hourglass series of historical novels for preteen girls
At one stage, there was even a Dress Hope Hicks Doll online. Pictured: A young Hicks posing in her Greenwich home with one of her modeling posters behind her
Eventually Ivanka lured her away to join the company full-time.
That’s when Donald Trump discovered her. He called her to his office in Trump Tower in January 2015 and told her she was joining the campaign. ‘I think it’s the year of the outsider. It helps to have people with outsider perspective,’ he told her.
Reporters complained during the presidential campaign that she was often unreachable.
However, Trump insisted that despite her near-invisibility she was doing a great job and she parlayed it into a White House position as director of strategic communications.
And after Mike Dubke, Sean Spicer and Anthony Scaramucci put in a total of 192 days heading up Trump’s spin efforts, the president picked Hicks to be the youngest ever to hold the post of White House director of communications.
She lasted four days longer than all of her predecessors combined.
But her youth and inexperience would always haunt her in the backstabbing world of Washington politics.
Added to that, her beauty and above-the-knee hemlines made the woman who Trump called ‘The Hopester’ the subject of endless gossip.
Author Michael Wolff claimed in his book Fire and Fury that she had had an affair with Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s married former campaign chairman.
But now, six months before she even celebrates her 30th birthday, Hicks is turning her back on Washington, claiming she wants to spend more time with her family, an excuse normally given by those who at least have children of their own
The 29-year-old was one of Trump’s closest aides but it was her relationship with accused wife beater and White House aide Rob Porter (pictured together January 27) that contributed to her was her downfall
Her beauty and above-the-knee hemlines made the woman who Trump called ‘The Hopester’ the subject of endless gossip
She announced her resignation on Wednesday (pictured), a day after admitting in closed-door testimony to the House Intelligence Committee that she had told ‘white lies’ to protect her boss, President Trump
But it was a different liaison that led to Hicks’s downfall. She started secretly dating Trump’s then-staff secretary Rob Porter in the fall.
DailyMail.com broke the exclusive story a month ago with pictures of the pair out for dinner in Washington and canoodling in a cab.
Within days DailyMail.com also broke exclusives that Porter had been accused of beating both of his ex-wives and a former girlfriend.
Hicks drafted an initial statement from Chief of Staff John Kelly supporting Porter, but after DailyMail.com ran a picture of Porter’s first wife Colbie Holderness with a nasty black eye, support for him quickly dwindled and he resigned.
Hicks was left badly damaged politically and personally, sources say, and began to lose faith in her high-profile job.
Then on Tuesday, California Democrat Eric Swalwell asked during her nine hours of testimony whether Trump had ever asked her to lie for him.
Her parents had met while they were both working as congressional aides in Washington. Pictured: Hicks (in green) with her parents and older sister Mary Grace in Antigua in 2002
The brunette also had a small role in the long-running soap opera The Guiding Light, although CBS says it kept no record of any of her appearances. Pictured: Hicks with her family
The 29-year-old (right, aged three) and her older sister Mary Grace (left) both modeled as teens getting work for Ralph Lauren, Macy’s, Sears, Target and The Limited Too
Pictured: The childhood home Hicks grew up in located in Greenwich, Connecticut
Hicks asked to be allowed to consult with her attorney and returned after 10 minutes to confirm that she had told ‘white lies’ over trivial matters.
However, she insisted the president had never asked her to lie about the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
But the damage was done. Trump reportedly exploded when news of her answer inevitably broke.
The following day she announced she was quitting the job that had made her famous.
Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway insisted that she had left because she was ‘exhausted’ after three years of working for Trump. ‘As the president says, she’ll probably be back in his orbit at some time, some day, to help yet again,’ Conway told Fox and Friends.
But there are other reasons for her abrupt decision to quit. Her relationship with Kelly was going downhill fast, according to Vanity Fair, which said the retired four-star general had told her that he wanted senior strategic communications adviser Mercedes Schlapp — tipped by many to take her job — to play a bigger role.
Hicks (second from left with family)was left badly damaged politically and personally, sources say, and began to lose faith in her high-profile job after the Rob Porter scandal
On Tuesday, Hicks (second from left with family) was asked if Trump had ever asked her to lie for him. She said she had told ‘white lies’ over trivial matters. Trump reportedly exploded when news of her answer inevitably broke
And despite her comfortable upbringing, Hicks (second from right) almost certainly need the money due to huge legal fees as Special Prosecutor Bob Mueller’s investigation tightens
And the Porter scandal and its aftermath is known to have shaken her badly.
It now all depends on how loyal Hicks will be to her former boss. She could take the route of former colleague Omarosa Manigault-Newman, who has become a Trump critic with her over-the-top performances on Celebrity Big Brother.
She will be offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to write a tell-all book and interview requests will flood in.
And despite her comfortable upbringing, she will almost certainly need the money.
She is already facing huge legal fees as Special Prosecutor Bob Mueller’s investigation tightens. ‘She is in immense personal jeopardy,’ Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman wrote.
What is certain is that neither the country nor President Trump has heard the last of Hope Hicks.