A Look Back On Ivana Trump's Controversial Diet Plan

Ivana Trump's life was one that most people can only dream of. Following a successful athletic and modeling career, she gained fame from her marriage to Donald Trump (then a mere real estate mogul). Later, she became even more famous for her multimillion-dollar divorce settlement (who can forget her famous line in "The First Wives Club": "Don't get mad — get everything"?). Ivana proceeded to marry and divorce twice more, continuing to enjoy a luxurious NYC existence before her heartbreaking death in 2022 following a fall at her Upper East Side townhouse. 

Though she could easily have done nothing but attend parties after her split from The Donald, Ivana was too active and business-minded for that. She was generous with her money, donating to charities such as Florida's Big Dog Rescue (Ivana was devoted to her Yorkshire Terrier, Tiger). She created fashion and jewelry lines called House of Ivana and Ivana Haute Couture, and dabbled in winemaking by launching Legends Wine, featuring four varietals from California. Her books on her life and marriage advice became instant bestsellers. 

It seemed everything Ivana touched turned to gold ... almost. One of her ventures became infamous for both its price tag and for Ivana's let-them-eat-cake attitude toward the common folk she hoped to help. There's a reason the "Ivana diet" never caught on.

In 2018, Ivana Trump partnered with friend Gianlucha Mech, then known as the "Richard Simmons of Italy," to promote his "Italiano Diet," a line of low-carb pasta, cookies and other treats. But Donald Trump's first ex-wife may not have been the best choice to pitch a weight-loss plan. Speaking to the New York Post, Ivana bragged about her own trim figure and added, "Who wants to walk around with 300 extra pounds? It's not healthy — you are lazy, you're glued to the television." She also blamed parents for being part of the problem: "If you are an obese parent, I guarantee your child will be obese."

If that alone didn't make customers lose their appetites, the Italiano Diet surely did. The meal kits — enough for 15 to 100 days, depending on one's weight goal — consisted of various packaged, artificially-flavored crackers, pasta, shakes and "tonics" to supplement lean meat dinners and veggie sides. Dieters could also pick individual foods, such as snack bars and "instant bacon-flavored omelette mix." The price of the kits was Trumpian, too: $350 for a small box, $1,073 for the "luxury" package, or $20 for a box of chocolate keto cookies.

Worst of all, the stuff wasn't even good. A reporter for Jezebel tried the fusilli pasta at a press conference and described it as soft, hard, and sandpapery all at once, with a sauce resembling "Clifford the Big Red Dog's used bathwater. ... Somehow, each bite was worse than the last."

As a "disciplined" eater, Ivana Trump apparently never needed to use the Italiano Diet herself, except for an occasional nibble of their praline cookies. Her tastes naturally ran more to fine dining: The New York Post reported that the socialite visited Upper East Side establishment Nello at least four times weekly, sometimes for both lunch and dinner. Her favorite dish was their pan-roasted hen with chopped arugula, which is listed as $62 — an indulgence for most of us, but mere spare change for a Trump. Another favorite meal was the $22 soup from neighboring Altesi, which was reportedly the last thing Ivana ordered before she died.

Unlike Donald Trump's famed love of McDonald's and Diet Coke, Ivana was less passionate about fast food (remember, this is a woman who once tried to order a glass of Chablis at Taco Bell). She told the Post she splurged on KFC just once a year, and she added, "There's a street vendor on my block and I get a hot dog once a month — no bread." Only in New York could you see a woman in a fur coat waiting at a street vendor.

For those still curious about the Italiano Diet, some products are available on Amazon, and Gianluca Mech sells his products in Italy under the brand name Tisanoreica. Or you can buy a week's worth of fresh vegetables and meat for about what Ivana spent in a day, and enjoy much healthier eating.