Ivana Trump, First Wife of Former President Donald Trump, Dies at 73
Donald Trump’s first wife, Ivana Trump, has died at the age of 73. The statement comes from the family to ABC News.
Ivana Trump is Donald’s first wife and the mother three of his kids: Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka Trump. The former president confirmed that she died at her home on Thursday. According to ABC News, Manhattan paramedics responded to a call for cardiac arrest and found a 73-year-old woman in the Upper East Side apartment where Ivana lived just after 12:30 pm.
“Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend,” the Trump family said in a statement. “Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren.”
Donald Trump issues a statement on Ivana Trump’s death
Donald Trump issued a statement on his platform Truth Social, reflecting on Ivana’s life and her role as a mother to his three kids.
“Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric,” Trump wrote. “She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her.”
Ivana Trump, born Ivana Marie Zelníčková, was born in former Czechoslovakia and grew up under communist rule. She moved to Canada in the 1970s before migrating to the United States, where she married Donald Trump in 1977.
She served as a senior executive in Trump’s business and was appointed CEO of Trump’s Castle in Atlantic City. She also did interior design work for the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Trump Tower. She also wrote multiple bestselling books including her memoir, Raising Trump.
“No matter how busy I was, I had breakfast with my children every day. I sat with them at dinner every night and helped them with their homework (I loved algebra) before going out in a Versace gown to a rubber-chicken charity event,” Ivana wrote in her memoir. “The kids and I celebrated, traveled, and grieved together. Our bond was, and is, our most valuable possession.”
Ivana and Donald Trump divorced in 1992 amidst revelations that the former president had an affair with Marla Maples, who would later become his second wife. In a 2017 interview with ABC News, Ivana said she had forgiven her former husband and also spoke about their differing parenting styles.
“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 the Central Park or go play baseball with them or something,” she said.
Most recently, Ivana married Rossano Rubicondi in 2008 but shortly got divorced in 2009.
