Inside Ivana Trump’s complex relationship with Donald, who she once accused of sexual assault but backed all the way for president, and who she says used Twitter thanks to her

Jul 16 , 2022

Donald and Ivana Trump were married for 15 years and even appeared in this TV advert for Pizza Hut together. Photos: @FanaTeresafana/Twitter

Ivana had three children with Donald Trump – Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric – and got US$14 million from the divorce; she was worth US$100 million at time of her death

She claimed to be the one who persuaded Donald Trump to use Twitter, and he once offered her the position of ambassador to her native country, the Czech Republic

Ivana Trump – the first wife of Donald Trump – was found dead at home in New York on Thursday. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was “very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many” of the tragic news.

Media gather outside the residence of Ivana Trump after she was found dead at home on July 14 in New York. Photo: AP

“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,” the former US president continued. “Rest In Peace, Ivana!”

Czech-American model Ivana Zelníčková married Donald Trump in 1977 and their divorce was finalised in 1992. But what was Ivana’s relationship with Donald like before she died?

Their divorce was a bitter affair

Donald Trump had three children with Ivana Trump, but the two finalised their divorce in 1992. Photo: DPA

After her bitter divorce from Donald Trump was finalised in 1992, Ivana – US$14 million richer – got a cameo in the Hollywood film, The First Wives Club. In the movie she has the line, “don’t get mad, get everything.”

Donald and Ivana Trump remained friends after their divorce: the latter is pictured here with his girlfriend Celina Midelfar while ex-wife Ivana Trump watches tennis in 1998. Photo: AP

And get everything she did. After a judge cited “cruel and inhuman treatment” by Donald, Ivana walked away with ownership of their Connecticut mansion and a Trump Tower apartment, according to The New York Times. Ivana revealed in a 2020 interview on British TV show Loose Women that it took only about two years for them to get back on good terms after their divorce, noting that they had young children to raise together.

Ivana Trump later married Rossano Rubicondi, who was 23 years younger than her. Photo: AP Photo

In April 2008 she married (the late) Rossano Rubicondi at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida where Donald, Melania and Barron Trump now live, because she’d been given use of the property for one month a year in the divorce settlement. Ivana went on to earn a fortune and was worth a reported US$100 million at the time of her death.