A Timeline of Donald Trump’s Relationships: From Marriages to Dating Scandals

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of sexual abuse that some readers may find distressing.

A Timeline Of Donald Trump's Relationships: From Marriages to Dating Scandals 

Donald Trump, former US president, has been accused of corporate fraud for allegedly paying Stormy Daniels hush money. According to Daniels, she was in a physical relationship with Trump and agreed to keep quiet about the encounter in exchange for $130,000 (£104,000) from his former lawyer before the 2016 election. Michael Cohen, the attorney, was later imprisoned on several counts. The Republican leader has denied having any sexual encounters with Daniels ever since the allegations first came to light in 2018. As per BBC, the model claimed that they engaged in personal contact in his hotel room near Lake Tahoe, a popular vacation destination between California and Nevada. She made certain assertions, but Trump's attorney "vehemently" refuted them. In a Manhattan criminal court, Trump entered a not-guilty plea to 34 felony counts of first-degree business record falsification. Concerning payments made to Daniels, he was charged. Additionally, he is being looked into regarding payments made to a former Playboy model for her to remain quiet about alleged sexual encounters with him. Trump had said that "the radical left Democrats have criminalized the justice system" in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The former president has been embroiled in various scandals throughout his three marriages, below is a look at some of his famous relationships.

1. Donald And Melania Trump

Donald and Melania first met in September 1998, two years after the Slovenian immigrant had arrived in the United States to seek a modeling career. The future power couple were introduced to each other in Manhattan, at a New York Fashion Week party. “He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so, of course, I didn’t give it to him,” the former first lady revealed of their first meeting in an exclusive interview with Harper's Bazaar in January 2016. “I said, ‘I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you.’” Soon after the two met, they started dating, and at the Met Gala in April 2004, Trump proposed. The couple tied the knot at Trump's lush Mar-a-Lago resort in January 2005, in March 2006, the couple welcomed their son, Baron, a year after exchanging vows. When her husband was embroiled in numerous issues during his 2016 presidential campaign, his four years as Commander in Chief from 2017 to 2021, and subsequent investigations into his behavior after he departed the White House, Melania never left his side.

2. Donald and Marla Maples

As Trump's marriage to his first wife, Ivana was falling apart, Marla Maples entered his life. They first encountered each other on Madison Avenue. As per Vanity Fair, the couple dated and broke up briefly as Trump's divorce from his first wife was finalized. Eventually, the Republican leader proposed and the couple soon got married, on October 13, 1993, Maples gave birth to their daughter, Tiffany. Subsequently, the couple was divorced in 1996, but not before Trump made Marla sign a prenuptial agreement. The prenup made it clear that Maples would forfeit any claim to Trump's future income and inheritances. She only received $1 million as payment.

3. Donald and Ivana Trump 

The real-estate mogul met his first wife at a bar on the Upper East Side. “There’s this tall blond guy with blue eyes. He said: ‘I’m Donald Trump and I see you’re looking for a table. I can help you.’ I looked at my friends and said: ‘The good news is, we’re going to get a table real fast. The bad news is, this guy is going to be sitting with us,’” Ivana had recalled about their first meeting. As per the Independent, the couple was married in 1977 after dating for less than a year. They welcomed Donald Trump Jr., their oldest son, nine months later. Ivanka, the couple's daughter, was born in 1981, and Eric, their youngest son, was born in 1984. However, Donald was unfaithful throughout their marriage, as the billionaire is said to have had several affairs while they were dating. The couple went through an ugly divorce in 1990, the pre-nuptial agreement Ivana allegedly opposed gave her custody of their three children, ownership of their 45-room, $3.7 million Connecticut home, and a $25 million payment. Ivana passed away on 14th July 2022, the former president and the model were married from 1977 to 1992. 

4. Donald and Gabriela Sabatini

As per Newsweek, in 1989, when his relationship with Marples was reported to have ended, Trump allegedly dated the tennis player. Before he reconciled with Maples and divorced Ivana, they dated for a month. 

5. Donald and Kara Young 

Beginning in 2001, Trump dated the model for two years. Young, a multiracial woman, has expressed dismay at the president's response to the unrest in Charlottesville, telling The New York Times that she "never heard him say a disparaging comment towards any race." As per Newsweek, she claimed that Trump, however, had a propensity to accept racial stereotypes. Young, for instance, detailed how Trump expressed surprise that there were Black spectators at the U.S. Open, apparently mistakenly thinking that Black people do not watch tennis. 

6. Donald and Rowanne Brewer Lane

The model, who was 26 at the time, and Trump had a brief romance. Naturally, the two connected during a pool party. The Mirror alleged that after she wore a borrowed swimming costume at his party, Trump remarked: "That's a stunning Trump girl right there." 

7. Donald and Carla Bruni 

There are rumors that singer-songwriter Bruni, who is now married to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, dated Donald Trump back in 1991. According to reports, Trump described Bruni as having "flat-chested" in a Howard Stern interview, which will undoubtedly surprise people who are accustomed to the president's regular criticism. Asserting that she only ever met the U.S. president once at a party, Bruni has denied dating the former president. 

8. Donald and Anna Nicole Smith

The model and television personality, well known for her marriage to the elderly J. Howard Marshall II was alleged to have hooked up with Trump, who was also well-known for dating younger women.  

SEXUAL ASSAULT: If you are being subjected to sexual assault, or know of anyone who is, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673)