Vacations abroad, plans with friends, and a return to social life after a long pandemic. Ivana Trump
had big plans for her future – this is what we know about how she spent her final days.
On July 14th, 2022, Ivana Trump, a former model and Donald Trump's first wife,
died at 73 years old.
In a statement released to ABC News, the former president and his family confirmed the news.
Ivana and Donald Trump shared three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump.
Together for 14 years before splitting in 1992,
their relationship was rocky at first after the divorce, but it strengthened to the point that
Donald Trump reportedly came to see her as a friend, confidante, and political adviser.
There are many truths that people do not know about Ivana. In the Trump family's
statement about her passing, they reflected on her legacy. Their statement read in part,
"Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete,
a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend."
The former president also spoke about her heartbreaking death
in a post on his platform Truth Social. He 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!"
A source close to Ivana Trump's only daughter Ivanka Trump told the New York Post that her
final days were spent with family. The Daily Mail reports that her last public appearance
was June 22nd, when she was spotted heading to a hair appointment with an aide at her side.
A source also revealed to the New York Post that Ivanka was completely devastated over
her mother's death. They shared that the pair had a very close relationship.
"She's smart as hell, she's beautiful, she's au courant. And how much more can you have?"
In a December 2010 tweet, Ivanka revealed that she was named after her mother
and that "Ivanka" is a Czech nickname. She wrote,
"My actual name is Ivana. In Czech, Ivanka is the baby name for Ivana, like Bobby is to Robert."
Ivanka once told O, The Oprah Magazine that during her childhood,
she traveled often with her namesake and would collect flowers,
which she'd then dry and turn into paperweights, as a souvenir.
Though she was known for her glamorous lifestyle, Ivana Trump was rarely in the spotlight.
The businesswoman traveled often before slowing down due to the COVID pandemic,
and she was planning to continue her worldly travels before her untimely death.
On July 14th, her best friend Nikki Haskell told Page Six that Ivana was planning a French getaway
before she died. What's even more heartbreaking is that Ivana planned on leaving the very next day.
Haskell revealed,
"She was leaving for St. Tropez tomorrow. This was going to be
her first trip away since the pandemic. She was afraid of getting the virus."
Haskell spoke in great detail to the entertainment outlet about Ivana's fears and anxiety over
COVID-19 and shared that this was a significant part of why she kept to herself. According to
Haskell, Ivana put traveling on hold and rarely visited places outside of her neighborhood,
but was hoping this trip would help ease her discomforts and get her back out into the world.
She added that Ivana was excited about visiting Europe again,
and even had future plans for a longer trip. Haskell shared,
"We were contemplating taking a trip around the world this January — take
two months off and take a trip around the world. I just can't believe it."
In the days leading up to her death, Ivana Trump stopped by her favorite
Italian restaurant. Altesi Ristorante owner Paola Alavian told The Sun that the socialite
ate at the restaurant on Wednesday, July 13th. He also commented on her apparent
health and shared that he didn't notice anything amiss at the time. He explained,
"As always she asked me how I was doing — she was always supporting us — and we
just shared an extremely normal conversation, the kind I had almost every day I saw her."
In his conversation with the outlet, Alavian added that Ivana only ate a little and seemed
tired at the time, but nothing that was cause for concern. He then reminisced on their friendship
over the years, and shared that everyone saw her as a motherly figure. He concluded,
"She was just an excellent human; she was a really, really good person."
After news of her death broke, Ivana's publicist and close friend of 40 years, R. Couri Hay,
told the New York Daily News that the tragic turn of events was, quote, "an end of a New York era."