FIERY 'FIRST LADIES': Inside Melania Trump's complex relationship with Ivana
Former President Donald Trump's ex-wife Ivana Trump died on Thursday, July 14, aged 73. Trump announced the death of his ex-wife on his Truth Social platform. Ivana was the former President's first wife, and mother of his three children, Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka.
Ivana was found at the bottom of a staircase and possibly had a cardiac arrest. The city’s Medical Examiner’s Office, however, will determine the official cause of death. Police are investigating whether Ivana fell down the stairs at her home on East 64th Street, New York Post learned from police sources.
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Ivana and Trump split in 1992, following which she received a settlement of $14 million. She also received a 45-room Connecticut mansion, as well as an apartment at Trump's New York Trump Plaza apartment complex. Her assets doubled after she sold the Connecticut mansion for $15 million in 1998. Ivana also got Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in West Palm Beach, Florida, for a month a year.
Reports say that Ivana feuded with Trump's current wife, Melania, while he held presidential office. Ivana, a Czech-born model and businesswoman, had once claimed she was "the first lady" because she was "the first Trump wife". She also said she was close to Trump even after their divorce and had a direct number to the White House. However, she said that she did not use it to avoid causing any issues between Donald and Melania, 52. Ivana never said much about Melania's role in their lives, except in this one instance where she said her daughter, Ivanka, likes her father's third wife "fine".
When Ivana publicly declared herself the actual first lady in 2007, rumors said she had a distaste for Melania. "Melania is there and I don't want to cause any kind of jealousy or anything like that because I'm the first Trump wife. I'm the first lady, OK?" Ivana said during a 'Good Morning America' interview in October 2017.
Melania was quick to issue a statement after Ivana's comment, calling her an 'attention seeker'. "Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for Barron and the president. She loves living in Washington, DC and is honored by her role as First Lady of the United States. She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books. There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately only attention seeking and self-serving noise," the statement said.
In 2019, Ivana claimed that her daughter liked Melania "fine". He also said that Ivanka did not like his second wife, Marla Maples. She likes her [Melania] fine, because she didn't cause me to break up the marriage like the other one - I don't even want to pronounce her name," Ivana said of Maples in an interview with The Atlantic.
Ivana's rise from a poor Czech immigrant to a business tycoon was fueled by a massive $14 million divorce settlement. In fact, she even appeared in a cameo role in the 1996 movie 'The First Wives Club'. In the film, she is seen advising three Manhattan divorcees "Don't get mad, get everything."
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During her last years, Ivana was often spotted in the Upper East Side neighborhood where her townhouse was located She would occasionally go shopping, or for meals. After her death, her son Eric confirmed the news to the Daily Mail. "Our mother was an incredible woman - a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend," he said. "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."