Affairs, a string of divorces, and so much more. Donald Trump's late ex-wife
Ivana's seemingly glamorous life came with plenty of downfalls.
Keep watching to find out the tragic details about Ivana Trump.
Donald Trump's very public affair with actor Marla Maples eventually led to the end of his
first marriage with Ivana Trump. She 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 woman came up to me out of the blue and said, 'I'm Marla and I love your husband.
Do you?' 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. Indeed, news of the affair was inescapable in the '90s.
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,
"[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!"
Reportedly, Ivana Trump struggled with raising three children alongside an often-uninterested
Donald Trump. 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."
She continued,
"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 replied:
"You can't do that! What if he's a loser?"
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. Ivana described the
alleged 1989 incident as a "violent assault" and reportedly told friends, quote, "He raped me."
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."
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."
Donald Trump's 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. 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.
"And remember--"
"What?"
"Don't get mad — get everything!"
You may remember Donald Trump's highly publicized COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent hospitalization
in October 2020. The then-president recovered after receiving treatment and later took
to his Twitter account to share a tweet that seemingly downplayed the severity of the virus.
Although Donald claimed 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. She told the magazine,
"It's a very difficult time. It's a stress. I spoke to all my kids and they,
of course, are worried… 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 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. 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. Ivana Trump told the outlet of the loss, "I'm devastated."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebrities are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.