Ivana Trump first met Donald Trump in 1976. She was not looking for a husband, much less a future president! He was a young Manhattan businessman who figured out how to command a room, and apparently a dinner table. She was a Czech model who came from Montreal to New York for a short stay. He had reserved “the best table in the place” for her and a group of models, according to Ivana’s memoir Raising Trump. He had the kind of confidence that would eventually define his persona. However, Ivana was impressed more by modesty.
She wrote, “We made polite small talk, no funny stuff at all. He sensed correctly that flirting would not work with me and acted like a gentleman.”
That first meeting clearly made an impact. Within a week, Donald Trump began calling Ivana from New York. He sent her a hundred roses. Then he flew to Canada specifically to see her walk the runway. The man never did believe in understatement!
At the time, Ivana Trump was in a casual relationship with someone else, but Trump made their flirtation a serious relationship in New York. He convinced her to go with him on a Christmas trip to Aspen (which she said was their “most romantic time”), and he took her to the most upscale restaurants in the city. He also called her “every other day” for months. Trump still didn’t waste time. He straight-up told her on New Year’s Eve, “If you don’t marry me, you’ll ruin your life.” Rizz? Perhaps not. Was it successful? Of course.
Donald Trump in Russia next to his ex-wife Ivana, 1987. pic.twitter.com/HgINh11Sed
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Norman Vincent Peale married them. He was the preacher famous for writing The Power of Positive Thinking, a book that would later influence Donald Trump’s approach! Married at Marble Collegiate Church in April 1977, the couple built a powerful New York dynasty. Throughout the 1980s, their lives became regular tabloid headlines. They had three children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. Together, they made the Trump name into a symbol. As the CEO of Trump Castle in Atlantic City and the head of the design team, Ivana Trump even took charge of the interior design of the Trump Tower. She was his partner in stilettos.
All empires fall, of course. During a ski trip to Aspen in 1989, Ivana Trump had a tense encounter with Marla Maples. According to Ivana’s account, Maples approached her and stated plainly: “I’m Marla, and I love your husband. Do you?” Ivana’s answer? “Get lost. I love my husband.” The subsequent controversy made headlines. Ivana became well-known as a result of their divorce proceedings, which took up eleven days of New York papers. Though the final settlement (reportedly worth $14 million plus a mansion and yearly Mar-a-Lago privileges) lessened the blow, she still accused Donald of inhumane treatment in court.
Despite their chaotic divorce, Ivana and Donald’s relationship eventually improved. He was “a good father,” she later wrote, saying that they were still “companionable coparents.” Donald Trump called his ex-wife “a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman” after she died in 2022. To many, Ivana Trump’s life story shows a different side of the president before the bitter political fights that came later. She was the first to notice the charm, arrogance, and growing empire. She created her own empire of wit, resolve, and just enough glitter to make the headlines. And in typical Ivana fashion, she turned grief into an image.
NEXT UP: Donald Trump’s Throwback Photo With Ivana Just Exposed the Secret Behind His White House Makeover
So even his ex wife had good things to say about him. Says a lot.