Vanessa Trump, former wife of Donald Trump Jr., was the one to officially call it quits
on her marriage.
The mother of five made the move at a time when the Trump family was under increasing
scrutiny over alleged ties to Russia.
Here's the truth about this high-level split.
On March 15th, 2018, TMZ broke the news that Vanessa filed for divorce from Don Jr.
She didn't contest custody or spousal support, which may indicate that she signed a prenuptial
agreement.
As for Junior's reaction... well, he didn't seem too broken up about the whole thing.
In fact, a source told TMZ that Don Jr. was "relieved."
However, Page Six noted that the fallout from the divorce couldn't have been worse.
Vanessa reportedly filed papers on the same day that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's
investigation into the president's alleged collusion with Russia subpoenaed the entire
Trump Foundation - which includes Don Jr.
Making matters even more complicated, Vanessa hired a criminal attorney for the divorce,
which was a somewhat odd decision, according to a family law expert.
According to Page Six, the pair finalized its divorce in late 2018 and reportedly signed
a confidentiality agreement to keep the terms of the settlement private.
Way back before there was Vanessa Trump, there was New York socialite and model Vanessa Haydon.
Think Paris Hilton, except instead of hotels, Vanessa's mother ran the Kay Models agency,
according to Elite Daily.
Her mom's agency reportedly gave Vanessa her first taste of good, old-fashioned nepotism
when she started modeling as a child.
According to Bustle, Vanessa landed a contract with Wilhelmina Models and attempted to launch
an acting career, which didn't quite happen.
A year later, she entered the Trump family orbit, but if she was looking for a career
boost, she barked up the wrong tree.
Vanessa served once as a "celebrity judge" for the Miss U.S.A. pageant, and she made
an appearance on The Apprentice.
That's pretty much it.
From there, Vanessa faded into the background as Mrs. Don Jr., which had to be quite the
adjustment considering the height of her modeling days saw her romantically linked to one of
the biggest names in Hollywood.
Following the blockbuster success of Titanic in the late '90s, Leonardo DiCaprio was the
biggest heartthrob on the planet.
Which also means that he had his pick of young models and starlets.
According to New York Magazine, Vanessa was one of them, although there's some dispute
about what really happened back in 1998, when Leo was king of the world and Vanessa was
an up-and-comer on the catwalk.
While the two were reportedly spotted nuzzling at a premiere party, Leo's publicist denied
they were dating, and sources accused Vanessa of planting stories with gossip columnists
about Leo finally settling down with a "down to earth" girl.
Apparently, Vanessa was anything but.
An old friend told the magazine,
"Vanessa played the media really well.
Now she's all dolled up and ladylike and s--t, but she used to be this hard-rock in leather
and baggy jeans.
She was a total gangster b---h."
A former high school classmate agreed, adding,
"She was an ill thug.
She went out with this Latin King for like three years."
According to Page Six, that member of the infamous Latin Kings street gang was her prom
date and first love.
Vanessa reportedly met Valentin Rivera, in grade school, but they didn't cross paths
again until a house party when the pair was around 15 years old.
Rivera told Page Six that after a stint in prison, his relationship with Vanessa was
so serious they discussed getting married and having kids.
The rumored romance allegedly ended when she possibly hooked up with DiCaprio in 1998.
The story of how Vanessa met Don Jr. is one for the ages, provided your definition of
an epic romance involves using a highly offensive word to describe your future husband's father.
In a 2006 interview with The New York Times, Vanessa recalled how she first met Don Jr.
at a 2003 fashion show, thanks to an introduction from his famous dad.
According to Vanessa, the three had a, quote, "brief, awkward conversation" and then parted
ways, but the story didn't end there.
She explained,
"Donald comes back up to me again [and says], 'I don't think you've met my son Don Jr.,'
[and I said], 'Yeah, we just met, five minutes ago.'"
Six weeks later, Vanessa and Trump Jr. were supposedly introduced again at a birthday
party for a mutual friend.
For a moment, the two initially didn't remember each other, until it hit Vanessa - and that's
when she reportedly used the "R-word" to describe Don Jr.'s dad.
That dad would go on to become the 45th president of the United States - and her father-in-law.
Awkward.
After somehow landing a model who may have dated Leonardo DiCaprio, you'd probably want
to pull out all of the stops when it comes to your wedding, right?
Not exactly, for Don Jr.
The heir to his family's real estate throne was labeled a cheapskate by the New York Post
when it came time to plunk down on an engagement ring.
According to the tab, Junior proposed to Vanessa inside a jewelry store at a New Jersey mall,
while paparazzi and TV cameras conveniently captured the moment.
In exchange for the publicity and future promotional appearances, Vanessa's $100,000 ring was reportedly
on the house.
"I'm very happy… she better be very happy."
As for the wedding itself, Junior once again spent nothing.
They held their 2005 wedding at Mar-a-Lago, his family's Florida golf club - the same
joint where Trump Sr. married his third wife, Melania, just a few months earlier.
Despite her early years as a fixture in the New York party scene, Vanessa seamlessly transitioned
into her new role as a stay-at-home mom to a brood of five.
"Who's on diaper duty?"
As Romper noted just after the 2016 election, Vanessa's Twitter was a shrine to her kids,
even as she began retweeting endorsements for Trump policies.
However, she also has an eye for philanthropy, and she was active in humanitarian efforts
while growing her family.
According to her now-deleted biography on the Eric Trump Foundation website:
"Vanessa is an avid humanitarian [who volunteered with Don Jr.] on an Operation Smile medical
mission in Nicaragua in 2008.
[...] As the mother of five young children, Vanessa is committed to helping Operation
Smile transform the lives of children in developing countries."
As for why Vanessa's bio was scrubbed from the page, Eric reportedly ceased fundraising
efforts for his foundation when he and Donald Jr. were tasked with running the Trump family
business after their father's presidential win.
And that's when the trouble allegedly began...
On February 12th, 2018, Vanessa was hospitalized after she opened an envelope containing a
suspicious white substance.
The threatening letter was addressed to her husband, and the incident sent Don Jr. into
a justified rage.
He tweeted,
"Thankful that Vanessa & my children are safe and unharmed after the incredibly scary situation
that occurred this morning.
Truly disgusting that certain individuals choose to express their opposing views with
such disturbing behavior."
Fortunately, authorities determined that the substance was corn starch, according to NBC
News, and a suspect was arrested in Boston.
Vanessa tweeted,
"Thank you so much to everyone that helped catch the person who sent the horrifying envelope
that I opened up two weeks ago!
A special thanks to [The Secret Service] and all the dedicated state & federal agencies
in Boston, NYC & around the US!"
Though Vanessa's case was handled by a slew of law enforcement agencies, she reportedly
struggled in its aftermath.
A source told Page Six the mother of five was "worried for her kids."
Not long after the white substance scare, Page Six ran an exclusive report that claimed
Vanessa's marriage to Don Jr. was on the rocks.
According to sources, the couple always had issues, but things only grew worse as Don
Jr. became wrapped up in his father's administration - and its scandals - along with running the
family business.
An insider said,
"Don Jr. has been busy traveling, which has contributed to their problems.
Vanessa is a devoted mother, but she is increasingly lonely and alone in the house with the children."
Page Six also reported that friends grew increasingly concerned about the way Don Jr. had apparently
"changed."
They cited his erratic tweet attacking the survivors of the Parkland, Florida shooting
and an awkward Halloween tweet that used his daughter to criticize socialism.
On top of that, the envelope incident was allegedly an eye-opener for Vanessa.
A source said,
"Vanessa is by nature a very low-key person and she is uncomfortable with the attention
her family is getting now [that] the Trumps are on the world stage."
Vanessa's exact reasons for divorcing Don Jr. are up in the air, but tabloids have hinted
at infidelity possibly contributing to the union's demise.
In March 2015, retired model Melissa Stetten accused Don Jr. of sending her private Twitter
messages, and former Danity Kane singer Aubrey O'Day also alluded to some sort of scandal
involving the president's son.
According to Page Six, O'Day and Don Jr. met on The Celebrity Apprentice, where he allegedly
hunted her down even though he was married to Vanessa.
American Idol star-turned-politician Clay Aiken, who appeared on The Apprentice alongside
O'Day, also hinted at shenanigans between O'Day and Trump Jr.
Vanessa was reportedly pregnant at the time, and Don Jr. allegedly told O'Day that his
marriage was ending.
Rumor has it that it was Donald Trump Sr. who stepped in and told Junior to "knock it
off."
O'Day initially claimed she would not speak publicly about the subject, but that didn't
last long.
In 2013, she released a song called "DTJ" that's about having an affair with a married
man who has the initials DTJ.
By 2019, she was apparently ready to let the cat fully out of the bag, revealing on MTV's
Ex On The Beach that Trump Jr. was her "soulmate."
During his divorce from Vanessa, Don Jr. started dating former Fox News personality Kimberly
Guilfoyle.
Vanity Fair reports that Don Jr. thinks Guilfoyle is, quote,
"A cool girl [who] fishes, shoots guns, [and] also wears makeup and the fashions."
"I like to joke on the campaign trail, you know, my big sacrifice for America is having
to travel with Kimberly."
As it turns out, Vanessa seems cool with her too.
She even defended the Fox News star after an article suggested the network should fire
Guilfoyle over her relationship with Don Jr. because of conflicts of interest.
Vanessa tweeted,
"The lengths people will go to attack a woman simply because she's dating Don.
We've been separated for over nine months and respect each other's decisions and privacy.
We'll focus on raising our great kids.
Would be nice if the press did the same rather than obsess over our private lives!"
Even though she's no longer legally part of the Trump family, Vanessa still maintains
her bond with them.
Her kids are Trumps by blood, and it seems like 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 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 Jr. because of his tightfisted 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 Haydon, who passed away in 2005.
Page Six reported that Haydon owned 30 percent of a specialty foods company that sold for
roughly $415 million in 2017 - leaving Vanessa and her family with a sizable windfall.
According to People, the money would have been untouchable by Donald Jr. in the divorce
proceedings, since it was part of an inheritance.
The fortune ensures that Vanessa will be able to be financially independent, with or without
her ex-husband.
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