If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.
Donald Trump’s first wife Ivana Trump passed away at the age of 73 on July 14, 2022. Paramedics responded to a medical emergency at her apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and Trump shared the news of her death on his social media platform Truth Social later that day, writing: “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.”
It was a warm tribute that those who closely followed Donald and Ivana’s relationship in the ’90s likely never thought they’d see, as the couple’s A-list life imploded in a messy divorce in 1992. But Ivana and Donald repaired their relationship long before her passing this year, and has been an influential force in Donald Trump’s life from the very beginning.
Famously calling herself the “real First Lady” in 2017 and writing several books about her experience in (and leaving) the Trump family, Ivana Trump has always embodied the key tenets of Trump-ism: she pursued money and fame unapologetically, carefully curated her image, and perhaps most importantly, always found her way back to Donald Trump’s side to support him. Her high-profile life continued well beyond her marriage to The Donald, as she once called him — let’s take a look back at how they met and how their famous relationship played out.
'Raising Trump' by Ivana Trump $16.99 $19.99 15% Off
on Amazon.com
Photo : Adam Scull/PHOTOlink/MediaPunch/IPX.
1976: Ivana Zelnícková Meets Donald Trump
Ivana grew up in Czechoslovakia and married an Austrian man named Alfred Winklmayr in Prague in 1971, when she was 22, moving to Canada the following year once she had her Austrian citizenship. She ended her marriage in 1973 and worked as a ski instructor and model in Canada. In 1976, she was in New York City for a fashion show when she met Donald Trump.
Here’s how she described their first meeting to the New York Post in 2016:
“[There’s] this tall blond guy with blue eyes. He said: ‘I’m Donald Trump and I see you’re looking for a table. I can help you.’ I look at my friends and said: ‘The good news is, we’re going to get a table real fast. The bad news is, this guy is going to be sitting with us…He drove us home and then we started to date.”
Photo : WWD.
April 1977: Donald & Ivana Marry
Nine months after meeting, Donald and Ivana Trump married at a socialite-filled wedding on April 7, 1977, at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City.
Photo : AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler.
Dec. 1977: Donald Trump Jr. Is Born
On Dec. 31, 1977, Donald and Ivana’s first child was born: son Donald Trump Jr.
Photo : AP Photo.
Ivana Trump Becomes a Businesswoman
Ivana Trump had always told people she considered modeling to be a job, not a career. Now that she was Donald Trump’s wife, she took on a number of responsibilities within The Trump Organization, serving as an executive for seven years: executive vice president for interior design, CEO and president of the Trump Castle Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, and manager of the Plaza hotel in Manhattan.
Photo : John Barrett/PHOTOlink /MediaPunch /IPX.
1981: Ivanka Trump Is Born
As Ivana Trump’s career grew, so did their family: They welcomed their daughter Ivanka Trump on October 30, 1981.
Photo : 1802573Globe Photos/MediaPunch/IPX.
1984: Eric Trump Is Born
On January 6 (yes, really), 1984, Donald and Ivana’s final child was born: younger son Eric Trump.
Photo : AP
1988: Ivana Becomes a US Citizen
In 1988, Ivana passed another important milestone with husband Donald by her side: She became a United States citizen and is pictured here outside the federal courthouse after her swearing-in in May of that year.
Photo : Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch /IPX.
1989: Ivana Trump First Encounters Mistress Marla Maples
The tabloid frenzy over Ivana and Donald’s split began at the end of the ’80s, as an encounter between Ivana Trump and actress Marla Maples on the ski slopes of Aspen — and Ivana and Donald Trump’s public spat that followed — made its way into the papers via lookers-on and anonymous sources reveling in the public messiness.
Ivana herself later told the story in a 1991 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters, contending that her encounter with Maples took place in a restaurant at Aspen and not on the slopes, and that she walked up to a woman she believed to be a friend of Maples after husband Donald told her the actress was “after him” and that’s why people were talking about her. She also wrote about the encounter in her 2017 memoir Raising Trump.
“This young blonde woman approached me out of the blue and said ‘I’m Marla and I love your husband. Do you?'” Ivana wrote. “I said ‘Get lost. I love my husband.’ It was unladylike but I was in shock.”
Photo : AP Photo/Luis Ribeiro.
1990: Ivana Files For Divorce
In 1990, Ivana filed for divorce, and all hell broke loose between the high-profile exes. Donald famously locked her out of her office at the Plaza Hotel; Ivana accused Donald of rape under oath during a deposition, but said in a later statement that she did not want her “words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.”
As Donald and Marla’s relationship played out in public, rumors swirled about the terms of his and Ivana’s prenup.
Photo : AP Photo/Betsy Herzog.
1992: Ivana & Donald Settle Their Divorce
The New York Times reported in 1991 that the Trump exes had settled: Ivana would receive “$14 million, a 45-room Greenwich, Conn., mansion, an apartment in the Trump Plaza, and the use of the 118-room Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida for one month a year.” Ivana would retain full custody of their children, and Donald would owe $650,000 annually in child support.
The report also states that Ivana’s lawyers opened negotiations asking for half of Donald Trump’s net worth, then valued at around $5 billion. But bankruptcy issues plaguing Donald’s business pursuits had compelled Ivana to settle for this amount instead.
“I’m very happy that this is behind me and I think it’s a real positive step for everyone,” Donald Trump said of the settlement. The divorce was finalized in 1992.
Photo : AP Photo/Kathy Willens.
1993: Donald Trump Re-Marries Marla Maples
Donald married his second wife Marla Maples on Dec. 20, 1993 at the Plaza Hotel. Two months earlier, they welcomed their first and only child together: Tiffany Trump. The couple later split in 1999, and Marla moved to Los Angeles with her daughter.
Photo : John Barrett/MediaPunch/IPx.
Jan. 1995: Ivana Comes Out With Post-Divorce Book
Photo : AP Photo.
Nov. 1995: Ivana Re-Marries Riccardo Mazzucchelli
Ivana re-married to Italian entrepreneur Mazzucchelli (pictured here with Ivanka and Eric) at the end of 1995, but the marriage was short-lived and ended in 1997.
Later that same year, Ivana sued Mazzucchelli for $15 million, claiming he violated the confidentiality clause of their prenup. Mazzucchelli, in turn, filed a libel lawsuit against both Ivana and Donald. They ultimately settled their differences out of court.
Leave a Comment