Vanessa Trump the ex-wife of Donald
Trump jr.
and the mother of his five children has
largely flown under the radar
compared to other members of the Trump
family here are some things you may not
know about former model
Vanessa Trump marrying into the Trump
family was not Vanessa's introduction to
the lifestyle of the well-to-do she
might not have grown up in the White
House but she still had a pretty
pampered upbringing born Vanessa Hayden
she grew up in luxury on Manhattan's
Upper East Side where she and her family
lived in a townhouse the young Vanessa
attended the pricey
Dwight school across town which
reportedly costs nearly forty nine
thousand dollars per year Vanessa's
mother ran a modeling agency while her
father was a celebrity attorney whose
famous clients included iconic figures
like actress Marilyn Monroe according to
Business Insider Vanessa and her sister
Veronica had a nanny to take care of
them while their high-profile parents
went to work Vanessa told the New York
Times that as a child she would
regularly attend crazy parties with her
nanny where she rubbed shoulders with
models surprisingly Vanessa's
ex-boyfriend gang member Valentin Rivera
says that it wasn't his gang activity or
his trouble with the law that ended his
relationship with her instead he said
that he broke up with her after the New
York Post reported that she had been
seen on a date with film star Leonardo
DiCaprio on May 1st 1998 the story
claimed DiCaprio's luscious love is
20-year old fashion model Vanessa Hayden
the passionate pair have been
inseparable over the past two weeks they
tried to keep a tight lid on their
budding romance but it all spilled out
during a private party in a trendy Soho
loft last week the couple could be seen
holding hands kissing and cuddling into
the wee hours in a dimly lit corner the
relationship was never officially
confirmed and New York magazine
suggested that Vanessa had started the
rumor herself but it was circulated
enough that it meant the end of the
alleged relationship between the then
future Vanessa Trump and Rivera like
many of the women in the Trump family
vanessa is a former model it seems like
Donald Trump jr. has similar
his father whose three wives Ivana Trump
Marla maples and Melania Trump are all
former models the president's daughters
have also continued what seems to be a
trump tradition Ivanka Trump was
previously signed to Elite Model
Management celebrity division while her
younger half-sister tiffanie Trump has
been occasionally spotted on the runway
while Vanessa's modeling past isn't as
widely publicized as the first ladies
she has extensive experience posing for
the cameras the fact that her mother ran
a modeling agency may have helped ease
her way into the industry but Vanessa's
good looks ensured that she found steady
work she began modeling as a child and
was signed to Wilhelmina Models as the
New York Times reported in 2006 how does
a model and socialite who has reportedly
dated a gang member end up with the son
of a businessman by being set up by the
guys dad apparently Donald Trump was
reportedly eager to set up his son with
the model discussing her introduction to
the Trump's in 2003 she told the New
York Times I'm at this fashion show
Donald Trump comes up to me with his son
hi I'm Donald Trump I wanted to
introduce you to my son Donald Trump jr.
after an awkward conversation the three
went back to the Fashion Show at
intermission
the older Trump introduced his son to
Vanessa again apparently forgetting that
he'd already made the introduction
Vanessa reportedly wasn't impressed at
first and it wasn't until a few weeks
later after a game being introduced by a
mutual friend that she clicked with
Donald Jr she claims they talked for an
hour and from there for romance unfolded
while it seems like Vanessa is the kind
of woman that Donald Trump wanted his
son to be with he wasn't always
supportive of the relationship or at
least he wasn't supportive of his son's
actions once Vanessa and Donald Jr got
together it seemed like things were
going smoothly until they're not so
romantic engagement Donald Jr proposed
with a $100,000 ring in 2004 the New
York Post reported at the time that he
got the ring for free in exchange for a
public proposal at New Jersey jewelry
store Bayley banks and Biddle the
proposal brought in publicity for the
store but many thought that it was tacky
I'm very happy
apparently Vanessa did get a more
romantic proposal a couple of months
earlier
the couple's home Donald juniors dad
later went on Larry King Live and
expressed his disapproval saying you
have a name that is hot as a pistol you
have to be very careful with things like
this her public engagement might not
have been the most glamorous events but
at least Vanessa got married in style as
people reported she and Dawg Trump jr.
tied the knot at his dad's Mara Largo
Resort in Florida the estate that the
president would later unofficially
dubbed the southern White House because
of the amount of time he spends there
the extravagant ceremony took place in
November 2005 less than a year after the
then future president married his third
wife Melania at mar-a-lago Vanessa and
her husband were both 27 years old the
wedding took place poolside and the
bride wore a dress she had designed
herself the ceremony was on the modest
side for a Trump event although the
wedding took place in front of 370
guests Judge Mary Ann Trump Barry the
groom's aren't officiated making the
wedding a true Trump affair is seemed to
be a fairy tale wedding and one that
would mark a turning point in Vanessa's
life she isn't one of the better-known
members of the extensive Trump clan but
it seems that at least within the family
itself vanessa is one of the most
respected donald trump's eldest daughter
Ivanka has not been reserved in
expressing the admiration she has for
Vanessa or at least she wasn't before
Vanessa left Ivanka's brother she told
people in 2016 my sister-in-law Vanessa
is a machine she can take all of my
children and not even notice she has
five children and she's Wonder Woman to
me she can be taking care of them all
simultaneously each pulling on her and
have direct meaningful connections with
each of them at one time
it's remarkable Ivanka called Vanessa an
amazing mother and really an inspiration
to her the president's daughter also
said that vanessa is one of the people
that she goes to for parenting advice
Vanessa and Don juniors divorce might
have come as a surprise to many but
those who are closest to the family
claimed that the relationship had been
rocky for quite some time a source told
page six in 2018 he gives her very
little help and has been keeping her on
a tight budget she doesn't live a lavish
life and can very rarely pick up a check
at dinner
who's on diaper duty while Vanessa's
spokesperson denied the rumors that
Donald Jr was tight-fisted and treated
his wife quote like a second-class
citizen there were problems in the
relationship beyond money according to
Us Weekly Donald Jr was involved in an
affair with Danity Kane singer Aubrey
O'Day from the end of 2011 to March 2012
allegedly ending it only after Vanessa
found out about it
while they reconciled the alleged affair
reportedly took a toll on their marriage
and might have been one of the
contributors to their eventual divorce
sources claimed that Vanessa was warned
about Don Jr more than once
one insider told page six people were
telling her not to marry him before the
wedding even though she went through
with the wedding people still seem to be
skeptical about the couple the first
lady herself also reportedly warned her
stepdaughter in law about what the Trump
men are really like an anonymous source
told Us Weekly Melania told her the
Trump men are one and the same vein and
power-hungry Vanessa had allegedly gone
to her mother-in-law for relationship
advice prompting the warning it would
seem that Melania doesn't have much
confidence in her stepson she allegedly
warned Vanessa to tread lightly the
insider added Melania told her she could
do nothing to change that and offering
her husband an ultimatum would be a huge
mistake because he would choose his
thirst for power like his dad being part
of the first family can take quite a
toll on even extended members of the
family things got scary for Vanessa in
February 2018 after she opened an
envelope addressed to her husband that
was filled with a powdery white
substance according to the New York Post
while the substance turned out to be
cornstarch Vanessa was rushed to the
hospital in case the then unknown
substance ended up being toxic the
envelope turned out to be a prank but it
left Vanessa terrified she later told
Axios it was a cowardly act against a
mother and even today every time I open
the mail I feel the same fear in my
heart as I did that day these recent
acts are the acts of a coward and
nothing more than terrorism pure and
simple
no one regardless of political party or
ideology should ever have to go through
what I went through
Vanessa seems to have been laying pretty
low since a highly publicized divorce
from Don Jr was finalized in February
2019 for now it looks like she's
enjoying being on her own and devoting
herself to her kids she's on social
media but her Twitter account doesn't
reveal too many personal details it's
filled with photos of her kids her
Twitter bio reads I'm a mother of five
amazing kids my children are my life she
captioned a photo collage of her
daughter in June 2019 with happy 5th
birthday to my princess Chloe Sofia
you always make everyone smile may all
your dreams come true we all love you
her infrequent posts are mostly centered
around her kids and her love for them
making it clear that she's a devoted and
loving mother even though she's no
longer legally part of the Trump family
Vanessa still maintains her bond with
them her kids are Trump's by blood after
all and it seems that vanessa is doing
her best to stay tight with her former
in-laws when she's not tweeting about
her kids she's posting tributes to the
family including a happy birthday post
to grandpa also known as President
Donald Trump in June 2019
the president's former daughter-in-law
was also seen outside the home of his
older daughter Ivanka and her husband
Jared Kushner
dropping off some of her children in
September 2018 according to Vanity Fair
while it isn't clear if Vanessa and
Ivanka are as close as they were before
the split it's apparent that they aren't
letting the end of Vanessa's marriage
keep their children apart
Vanessa may no longer legally be a
member of the Trump family but she
doesn't seem ready to completely cut
ties with the presidential clan at least
for now while there were rumors that
Vanessa was leaving Don junior because
of his tight fisted ways the former
model isn't exactly hurting for cash her
mother is still alive as of early 2020
but Vanessa inherited a not so small
fortune from her father Charles Hayden
who passed away in 2005 page six
reported Hayden owned 30% of a specialty
foods company that sold for roughly four
hundred and fifteen million dollars in
2017 leaving Vanessa and her family with
a sizable windfall according to people
the money would have been untouchable by
Dawn or jr. in the divorce proceedings
since it was part of an inheritance the
fortune ensures that Vanessa will
able to be financially independent with
or without her ex-husband check out one
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