Ivana Trump, first wife of former President Donald Trump, dies at 73
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Former President Donald Trump 's first wife Ivana Trump was found dead in her Manhattan apartment Thursday.
She was 73.
Police say the death is not considered suspicious and it appears she died of natural causes.
At 12:40 p.m. Thursday, police were called to her apartment for a wellness check. They found her there deceased. Sources tell CBS2 she was found on a staircase. There's no indication that she fell. Again, police say the death is not considered suspicious.
CBS2's Lisa Rozner saw Eric Trump as he left the apartment.
"It's a very sad day, a very sad day," he said.
Donald Trump announced Ivana's death on Truth Social.
"I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City. She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!" he wrote.
Eric, her third and youngest child with Donald Trump, posted an old family photo on Instagram.
"Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend. Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and ten grandchildren," Eric Trump wrote.
Ivana was Donald Trump's first wife. They married in 1977, and they became New York City's tabloid power couple. The Czech-born model and her husband kept an active social calendar.
As CBS2's Dick Brennan reports, Ivana was a key partner in several of Donald Trump's projects, and it all resulted in a uniquely "Trump" sort of home life.
"I was running the three casinos in Atlantic City for ten years, going on helicopter at 7 o'clock in the morning from New York. Getting up, landing on the roof, going to the office, 6 o'clock, back home, children, homework," Ivana once said in an interview.
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The Trumps raised their three children -- Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric -- to become key players in Donald's business empire and political aspirations.
Donald Trump was constantly followed by rumors of infidelity, but the gossip came to a head when Ivana confirmed Trump was having an affair with Marla Maples.
"You're devastated, of course. Then there is a stage when you come and you say, 'Why me?' You get angry," she said at the time.
Using the same fighting tactic her husband was famous for, Ivana Trump went very public with her divorce battle.
"If you're good to him, he's incredible to you. If you are bad at him, you're dead," she once said.
But the Trumps had a seemingly amicable settlement.
Ivana went on to become an entrepreneur in her own right. She started a fashion line and wrote books. Along the way, she married and divorced her third and fourth husbands.
She says when he was president, Donald Trump asked her to be ambassador to the Czech Republic, but she said no, thank you.
In 2017, she spoke to Jim Axelrod and said her ex-husband was still a big part of her life. She told Axelrod they spoke at least once a week, and he continued to ask her advice.
"What does he ask you about?" Axelrod asked.
"He asks me should I tweet, should I not tweet," she said.
"And what have you told him?" Axelrod asked.
"I said I think you should tweet," she said.
There is no word on any funeral arrangements at this time.