Ivanka Trump Expresses Grief Over First Holiday Without Her Mother, Ivana

This summer, the death of Ivana Trump spurred dramatic headlines. Ivana — once a model, competitive skier, and socialite — was Donald Trump's first wife and mother of his eldest three children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. Ivana's disastrous divorce from the former president made her "one of the most famous divorcees in the world," according to People, which entailed an eight-figure settlement, amongst other things.

Ivana died as the result of an accident, sparking conspiracy theories that, for example, her casket was full of classified documents — Snopes reviewed this claim and declared it unfounded. But one detail that really riled up the internet was that Ivana Trump was buried in an unceremonious grave on Donald Trump's golf course in New Jersey — presumably, so he would receive substantial tax breaks, as a Twitter thread broke down. "I couldn't believe her 3 kids — whom she apparently loved & who loved her — would allow their father to treat their mother like this. Burying Ivana in little more than a pauper's grave disgraces them all," the author of the Twitter thread wrote, who is also an expert in tax avoidance. The tweet received more than 30,000 likes. 

After her mother passed, Ivanka Trump took to Instagram to express her grief. "I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always," she wrote in the caption. Now, Ivanka has more to express about her mother. 

In a caption on Instagram accompanying a series of photos from her childhood, Ivanka Trump shares her grief during her first holiday season without her mother, Ivana Trump. "It's true: grief during the holidays can be harder than any other time of the year," she writes. "The loss of a parent is one of life's very painful passages for which one is never fully prepared. It hits at the very core of your being. And it takes a good amount of time to emerge from how it dislocates you," she continues. "To all who have experienced the loss of a loved one this year, may hope sustain you, may good memories provide you comfort, may friends and family surround you, and may love give you strength," she ends the message. 

Following Donald Trump's announcement that he is once again running for president in 2024, Ivanka, who was an official advisor to her father during his tenure in the White House, said in a statement first reported by ABC News, "I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics." Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, did not attend her father's announcement event in Mar-a-Lago.