Ivana Trump, first wife of former President Trump, has died
Ivana Trump, the first wife of former President Trump and mother of three of his children, has died, her son Eric Trump posted on Instagram and the former president posted on Truth Social on Thursday. She was 73.
The New York Police Department confirmed Ivana Trump was found dead in her New York City apartment. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death, police said.
Ivana Trump was the mother of Ivanka, Eric and Donald Trump, Jr., all of whom have played key roles in their father's political life.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Ivana Trump," Eric Trump posted 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."
Ivanka Trump tweeted that she is "heartbroken" by her mother's death.
"Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She lived life to the fullest — never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance," Ivanka Trump wrote. "I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always."
The former president wrote about her death in a post on his social media platform, 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," the ex-president wrote. "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!"
Ivana Trump, whose divorce with the real estate mogul was finalized in 1992, became known for her own lines of fashion jewelry, clothing and beauty products.
In 2017, during the first year of her ex-husband's presidency, she wrote a book titled, "Raising Trump," which was published by a division of Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster is a division of Paramount, as is CBS News.
Ivana was a model from the Czech Republic living in New York City when she met Trump. She wrote about meeting him, "So I turn around. And there is a blond, blue-eyed guy. And he said, 'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. My name is Donald Trump. And I can see the girls, you are looking for a table.'
"And I turned to my girlfriend. I said, 'I have good news and bad news.' 'What is the good news?' 'We're going to get a table real fast.'
"'What is the bad news?' 'This fellow behind me is going to go and sit with us!'"
They married in 1977, welcoming Donald Jr. Trump in Dec. 1977, Ivanka Trump in Oct. 1981 and Eric Trump in Jan. 1984. The pair, their three children and their glamourous lifestyle made them tabloid fixtures.
During the Christmas holidays in 1989, Marla Maples, who was having an affair with Trump, came up to Ivana at a restaurant in Aspen, according to Ivana's book. Ivana wrote that Maples said to her, "I'm Marla and I love your husband. Do you?'"
She wrote that she told Maples to "get lost," but Ivana ultimately filed for divorce in March 1990. "As far as I was concerned, the marriage ended that day at Bonnie's," Ivana wrote.
After a lengthy public battle, Ivana and Donald Trump finally settled their divorce, as he underwent financial distress, bringing him to the point of near bankruptcy, according to the Times. Ivana received $14 million in the divorce plus the Greenwich mansion, and an apartment in the Trump Plaza, and the use of the 118-room Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida for one month a year.
Trump and Maples were married in December 1993. According to Ivana's memoir, their three children did not attend the wedding.
Ivana Trump had a cameo in the 1996 film "The First Wives Club," telling the women, "Don't get mad — get everything!"
But Ivana Trump kept her ex-husband's surname and supported his presidential candidacy. She told CBS "Sunday Morning" in 2017 that her former husband still sought her advice and they spoke around once a week.
"He ask me about, 'Should I tweet? Should I not tweet?'" she said. "I said, 'I think you should tweet. It's a new way, a new technology. And if you want to get your words across rightly, without telling The New York Times, which is going to twist every single word of yours, this is how you get your message out.'"
She had served as vice president for interior design at Trump Organization while they were married, and even managed the Plaza Hotel. After their divorce, she developed clothing, jewelry and beauty products lines, inking a deal in 1993 to sell them on the Home Shopping Network.
She married and divorced twice after Trump, telling "Sunday Morning" in 2017 that she liked the energy of younger men.
"Yes. Yes, I rather be a babysitter than a nursemaid!" she laughed. "And I don't need to worry about the bad knee and bad back and Viagra and all that stuff."
Ivana Trump told "Sunday Morning" she was enjoying her life and had no desire to make any big changes to her life, no desire to take a job in her ex-husband's administration.
She explained, "I was just offered to be American ambassador to Czech Republic. Donald told me. He said, 'Ivana, if you want it, I give it to you.' But I like my freedom. Why would I go and say bye-bye to Miami in the winter, bye-bye to Saint-Tropez in the summer, and bye-bye to spring and fall in New York? I have a perfect life."
