Tragic Details About Ivana Trump
The following article includes mentions of sexual assault allegations.
Donald Trump's late ex-wife, Ivana Trump, left behind a legacy of her own when she died at age 73 on July 14, 2022. The Fire Department of New York revealed that paramedics had entered her Upper East Side apartment in response to a call regarding cardiac arrest, per Reuters. Her cause of death was later revealed to be accidental following a fall that resulted in her torso suffering blunt impact injuries. The Donald broke the news of Ivana's death himself in a statement shared to Truth Social, the former U.S. president's social media platform. "She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life," he wrote in part (via NBC News).
Ivana had a promising future from the beginning. The Czech-born American studied physical education and languages, receiving her master's degree from Charles University in Prague before later pursuing modeling. This career change led Ivana to meet Donald, who became her second husband after the two connected in New York City, Reuters reports. The former U.S. POTUS has Ivana to thank for much of his success in the early days of his career, because the mother and businesswoman served as vice president of interior design at the Trump Organization and also helped develop many of his properties, such as Manhattan's Trump Tower and the New Jersey-based Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
But the former model's impressive career and seemingly glamorous life came with downfalls, as well. Keep reading to find out the tragic details about Ivana Trump.
Donald Trump's affair with Marla Maples took a toll on her
Donald Trump's very public affair with actor Marla Maples eventually led to the end of his first marriage with Ivana Trump. The businesswoman wrote about Donald's infidelity in her 2017 book "Raising Trump: Family Values from America's First Mother," recalling the moment she apparently learned of the affair directly from Maples herself in 1989. "This young blond[e] woman came up to me out of the blue and said, 'I'm Marla and I love your husband. Do you?'" she wrote. "I said, 'Get lost. I love my husband.' It was unladylike, but I was in shock."
Ivana also explained that the highly publicized cheating scandal affected the entire family, including her three children with Donald, per The U.S. Sun. Indeed, news of the affair was inescapable in the '90s, and it didn't help that the New York Post printed the headline, "Marla Boasts to Her Pals About Donald: Best Sex I've Ever Had," across its front page. As you may have guessed, this garnered a lot of attention. Per the Daily Mail, it was later alleged that Donald himself requested this front-page story.
He and Maples would go on to welcome their daughter, Tiffany Trump, before getting married in 1993 and divorcing in 1999. While Maples expressed hope for Ivana's forgiveness during a 2016 interview with People, Ivana told the New York Post (via People), "[Maples] asked to apologize to me in the Daily Mail in London. They asked if I accepted the apology and I said no. Why should I? She broke my marriage!"
Ivana Trump's ex wasn't always the best father to their kids
Ivana Trump sometimes struggled with raising three children alongside an often-preoccupied businessman. She opened up about these hardships during an interview with "Good Morning America" in 2017. "He was a loving father, don't get me wrong, and he was a good provider, but he was not the father which would take a stroll and go to ... Central Park or go play ... baseball with them," the mother of three said of her ex-husband, Donald Trump. "It [wasn't] until they were about 18 years old [that] he could communicate with them, because he could start to talk business with them."
This isn't the only example of Donald's apparent coldness toward his children. In Ivana's memoir "Raising Trump," she revealed that the businessman wasn't thrilled about sharing a name with his son, Donald Trump Jr. Ivana explained that when she asked Donald about the name, he supposedly replied: "You can't do that! What if he's a loser?" (via Newsweek).
It seems that we have seen the effects of Donald's business-minded approach to parenting in his three children with Ivana. These days, Donald Trump Jr. is the executive vice president at the Trump Organization, while Eric Trump holds the same position at his father's company. Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump was a senior advisor in the Trump administration during her father's one-term presidency, and she also famously worked for his real estate company while owning her own fashion and shoe brand that has since shut down.
She retracted her sexual assault claims against Donald Trump
In a deposition made by Ivana Trump in connection with her divorce from Donald Trump in 1991, she claimed that she was sexually assaulted by her soon-to-be ex-husband. This news came to light in the book "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump" by Harry Hurt III, which was released in 1993. Ivana described the alleged 1989 incident as a "violent assault" and reportedly told friends, "He raped me" (via the Independent).
Special counsel at the Trump Organization, Michael Cohen, came forward to deny these allegations when they resurfaced decades later, telling the Daily Beast: "She felt raped emotionally. ... She was not referring to it [as] a criminal matter, and not in its literal sense, though there's many literal senses to the word." In a shocking turn of events, Ivana herself came forward to claim she misspoke during her original deposition. According to the Independent, Donald's lawyers had this statement printed in "Lost Tycoon," with Ivana's disclaimer reading in part, "As a woman, I felt violated, as the love and tenderness which he normally exhibited toward me, was absent. I referred to this as a 'rape,' but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense."
Ivana further clarified her original claims again in 2015, when she stated that the previously mentioned piece published by the Daily Beast contained unsupported claims regarding the alleged sexual assault.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Ivana Trump's divorce from The Donald was brutal
Donald Trump's previously mentioned affair with Marla Maples marked the official downfall of his relationship with Ivana Trump after 15 years of marriage, with the couple finalizing their divorce in 1992, two years after the cheating scandal first hit headlines, per the Independent. Understandably, the split not only took a toll on Ivana, but on the former pair's three kids, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. According to Vanity Fair, Ivana told a reporter at the time: "The children are all wrecks. ... [Ivanka] now comes home from school crying, 'Mommy, does it mean I'm not going to be Ivanka Trump anymore?' Little Eric asks me, 'Is it true you are going away and not coming back?'"
Throughout the tumultuous divorce, Ivana and Donald's lawyers went back and forth about finances. According to The New York Times, Ivana's legal team fought against the couple's pre-nup and asked for half of Donald's assets. Unfortunately for the businesswoman, Donald apparently didn't have as much money in the bank as he claimed: In the end, Ivana walked away with some real estate and $14 million, which was only a small portion of the $5 billion her lawyers had previously requested. Additionally, Donald agreed to shell out $650,000 a year toward their children's care.
She was worried during Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis
You may remember Donald Trump's highly publicized COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization in October 2020. The then-president quickly recovered after receiving treatment and later took to his now-suspended Twitter account to share a tweet that seemingly downplayed the severity of the virus. "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life," he wrote (via CNN). "We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
Although Donald seemed to be unfazed by the illness, his loved ones worried about his well-being. According to People, Ivana Trump revealed the family was concerned about how COVID-19 would affect the then-74-year-old. "It's a very difficult time," the businesswoman told the magazine, saying of Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump, "It's a stress. I spoke to all my kids and they, of course, are worried." The mother of three went on to reveal about her POTUS ex-husband: "He was careless. He didn't think it would happen to him."
Ivana also explained that while Donald was mindful about washing his hands and sanitation, he wasn't always the healthiest in other aspects of his life. In particular, she pointed out the politician's obsession with Big Macs from McDonald's that she seemed to imply could have contributed to a decline in health.
Ivana Trump cared for ex-husband No. 4 before he died
Ivana Trump married her fourth husband, actor and model Rossano Rubicondi, in 2008 — but the on-and-off couple's marriage didn't last long, per Page Six. Trump and Rubicondi filed for divorce only a year after saying their vows, and she revealed to the outlet a decade later that their long-distance dynamic took a toll on their romance. "The relationship just ran its course," Trump noted. "Rossano spends a lot of time in Italy and I spend a lot of time in New York, Miami, and St-Tropez, and he has to work." Still, the two would remain close, rekindling their on-again, off-again relationship until calling it quits for good in 2019. As Trump went on to share at the time, "We had a good time and are friends. The split was amicable."
The pair did in fact stay in each other's lives up until Rubicondi's tragic death in 2021. According to The U.S. Sun, reports revealed that the 49-year-old Italian multi-talent died of melanoma that October, and his parents spoke about their late son's close relationship with his ex-wife during an interview on "Pomeriggio Cinque." According to People, they revealed that Trump cared for Rubicondi during his last days. She also made a touching request after the model was cremated. "Ivana asked if she could keep half the ashes. I said yes," the star's mother, Rosa Rubicondi, said (via a translation shared by People).
For her part, Ivana Trump told the outlet of the loss, "I'm devastated."