The Most Troubled Trump Family Marriages

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

The Trump family might have unique marriages, but they all crash and burn over the same old issues: cheating and public scandals. Interestingly, these unions typically start the same way. After a rushed relationship, the Trump family members propose with the most expensive engagement rings and speed through the planning for a mega talk-of-the-town wedding where they vow to be together 'til death do them part. However, in the coming years, they display how little these promises mean to them. Instead of dealing with their marital issues to form a stronger bond, they play the loved-up couple for the public and seek solace elsewhere.

Sadly, when their couplings almost inevitably begin to crash, the Trumps often seem more focused on protecting their personal interests and spinning PR rather than salvaging their marriages. In some cases, some Trumps even use their sad circumstances to curate their public images. This might be why very few Trump family divorces end amicably. Tracking back, it all began with Donald Trump's older brother, Fred Trump Jr., in 1962.

Although Fred Trump Jr. lived in a time without social media and public access to the internet, his daughter Mary Trump wrote a book, "Too Much and Never Enough," which detailed a ton about the Trump family, including the tragedy of her parent's marriage. Back in the 1950s, Fred Jr., the first son of the Trump family, took the bold step to leave their verbally abusive father and the family business for pilot school. It was during this period that he met Linda Clapp in 1958.

And although Fred Trump Sr. didn't approve of her, Mary writes that they tied the knot just two years after (interestingly, Ancestry Newspapers claims they married in 1962). According to Mary, however, her father was only 22 years old when he married her mother. Sadly, the strain from his family pushed him into drinking and soon began to affect his marriage.

At one point, Mary witnessed Fred Jr. drunkenly pull out a gun on Clapp and laugh at her terror. He even bought a ball python despite Clapp's fear of snakes. It also didn't help that they refused to face their problems. Mary wrote, "They kept going through the motions of their day-to-day lives without acknowledging the problems in their marriage." By 1970, Clapp decided she'd had enough and threw Fred Jr. out of their home. Shortly after, she filed for divorce. Fred Trump Jr.'s drinking also led to his tragic death in 1981.

Donald Trump met Ivana Zelníčková at a party in 1976, and after a whirlwind year of courtship, the couple tied the knot in 1977. It's common knowledge that he eventually cheated on her, which ended their marriage, but their union wasn't all peaches and cream before Donald's infidelity. For starters, the businessman was an uninvolved father. Ivana once explained that he only took an interest in their children once they could talk about his businesses. We know she wasn't just badmouthing Donald as a dad, because even Donald Trump Jr. admitted that his father was too busy to give him any fatherly affection.

However, like Fred Trump Jr. and his wife, Donald and Ivana Trump were in denial about problems in their relationship. In 1988, Ivana told Vanity Fair, "I think it's upsetting to people that Donald and I have it all: we're young, we're healthy, we love our work, and we have a good marriage and children on top of that! People just can't stand that."

Just one year after this interview, Donald began flaunting his relationship with his mistress, Marla Maples, whom he'd met in 1985. Ivana eventually filed for divorce in 1990 and tried to fight their prenup, leading to a court battle that dragged on for two years.

Donald Trump's younger brother, the late Robert Trump, is another member of the Trump family who has been divorced. Robert married Blaine Beard in 1984, and although he was involved in the family business, he chose a quieter life away from the spotlight. Sadly, this choice of subtlety didn't mean that his relationship would fare any better. In 1987, Blaine gave a rare interview to The New York Times about her marriage, where she shared that her husband had the final decision on what projects she could take. 

She even recalled his displeasure after a particular children's charity she'd hosted. "I hope you're not doing any more of these anytime soon," Robert had said. Interestingly, Joy Hendriks, Blaine's friend and VP at Yves Saint Laurent, also spoke about Robert's peculiar behavior. Hendriks said that "Robert goes absolutely wild" when Blaine's younger sister would visit because the sisters would choose to communicate in Japanese.

Perhaps Robert's oddities wouldn't have been such a bad thing if he didn't end up cheating on her with his secretary, Ann Marie Pallan. When Blaine discovered the affair in 2004, she reportedly took too many sleeping pills by mistake and had to be rushed to the hospital to save her life. Page Six reported that she wanted to work on their marriage, but Robert just wasn't interested, leading Blaine to file to end their union. Their divorce led to a two-year legal dispute that was eventually settled in 2009.

From all appearances, Donald Trump never truly wanted to marry Marla Maples. However, given the public scrutiny they'd endured, he felt he owed her a ring. They eventually got engaged in 1991, but Trump secretly phoned a reporter pretending to be a publicist to boast about all the women who liked him. The publicist, aka Donald Trump, even denied that he had ever proposed to Maples, claiming that she was simply bugging him for a ring. 

Unfortunately for Trump, the reporter he called figured the ruse out and shared it with Maples, who confronted him. Donald owned up, but Maples didn't leave. Instead, she married him in 1993, months after the birth of their child, Tiffany Trump. But by 1996, the tables had turned as the media now whispered that Marla Maples had cheated on Trump, not once, but twice. The first alleged infidelity occurred while they were still dating when Maples allegedly invited singer Michael Bolton to her bedroom while Trump wasn't home.

Sadly, the second allegedly happened while they were married, as Maples was accused of having a steamy rendezvous with her bodyguard on the beach in 1996. Worse still, Trump was accused of sexual assault by several women, including Temple Taggart McDowell and an Epstein accuser, who claim the assault happened during his engagement and marriage to Maples. Donald Trump and Marla Maples eventually divorced in 1999.

Donald Trump Jr. met Vanessa Trump in 2003, when they were introduced by Donald Trump. Their relationship was fast-paced, and in 2005, they tied the knot. Unfortunately, the couple did not have a happy marriage. Sources alleged that Don Jr. was stingy to Vanessa, lived a separate life, and didn't spend nearly enough time at home. Sadly, it would only get worse. Soon after joining the 2011 cast of "The Apprentice," Don Jr. reportedly began a relationship with Aubrey O'Day, a contestant on the show. 

They kept their affair hidden until Vanessa reportedly found out that Don Jr. was cheating through his phone in 2012. Despite this, Don Jr. and Vanessa chose to sideline their issues and have two more kids. However, in 2018, Vanessa received several millions in inheritance and filed for divorce a month later. Their divorce dragged out from March of that year till February 2019. The pair have continued to co-parent ever since. Soon after the divorce, Don Jr. began to date Kimberly Guilfoyle and is believed to have proposed in 2020. Sadly, there are signs that Don Jr. and Guilfoyle's relationship is on the rocks, too.

Donald and Melania Trump are the only couple on our list who are still together. They met in 1998, married in 2005 in an incredibly lavish Trump-style wedding, and had their first child, Barron Trump, soon after. Unfortunately, their marriage has been just as scandalous as Donald's past unions. While Mrs. Trump has kept a clear track record, Donald has been accused of infidelity by multiple women, including adult actor Stormy Daniels, who claims they had a consensual affair, and reporter Natasha Stoynoff, who claims she was assaulted. Both women allege that their sexual incidents occurred during his marriage to Melania.

But besides the cheating allegations, there are other signs that Donald and Melania Trump are headed for a split. Since 2023, Melania has drastically reduced how often she publicly appears with Donald and was even caught swatting his hand away when he reached for her. The Trumps reportedly sleep apart and even lead separate lives, with Melania viewing Donald's legal problems as his personal business. Melania has also renegotiated her prenup with Donald multiple times. And with the rumors that Alina Habba is trying to copy Melania, a third Trump divorce will not be all that surprising. 

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).