Details Revealed About Marla Maples' Scandalous Past

These days, we're more focused on the weird things everyone ignores about Donald and Melania Trump than the 45th president's former marriages. The pair have been married for decades, so it's easy to forget about the entanglements Donald has had in the past. However, back in the late '80s and early '90s, his relationship with actor and beauty queen Marla Maples was often front-page news. The billionaire businessman and the blond bombshell had a notoriously shady start to their relationship that caused his marriage to his then-wife, Ivana Trump, to crumble. In the years that followed, all eyes were on Maples and Donald as they made their love public — but as you may have expected, it wasn't always smooth sailing for this leading lady. 

Maples' relationship and subsequent marriage to Donald was marred by tumultuous ups and downs. Sensational headlines followed her wherever she went, and the star didn't always help herself. Being on the arm of one of America's most prominent entrepreneurs also made her the target of a rather nasty plot executed by her publicist, and rumors of affairs behind Donald's back were rife. In more recent years, the bad blood followed her as she appeared on a popular reality TV show. Maples may have moved on from Donald years ago, but her past continues to haunt her, proving that you can't always outrun your demons. Let's dive into some eyebrow-raising moments that Marla Maples just can't escape. 

It's no secret that Donald Trump likes beautiful women. When he happened to cross paths with Marla Maples sometime in the late '80s, he was instantly smitten. The romance began when they bumped into each other on Madison Avenue, though they had exchanged pleasantries when they happened to attend the same events in the past. At first, the affair was kept low-key, with Maples calling Trump's office with a code name. However, hiding wasn't Maples' strong suit, and according to the managing editor of Casino Journal, Roger Gros, Trump wasn't going out of his way to keep his tryst out of the public eye despite still being married to Ivana Trump. 

"Donald was not really very discreet about it," he told Vanity Fair in 1990. "He had [Maples] stay on [his yacht] all summer except when Ivana came." As the relationship heated up, they were often spotted at the same parties and high-profile events, but Donald's wife reportedly had no idea, despite the fact that her husband had reportedly set Maples up in his Trump Plaza hotel, where she stayed intermittently for around two years. Maples was even at the same ski resort in Aspen when Donald spent New Year 1989 with his family, but the jig was up when Ivana confronted her at lunch and declared, "I have a happy marriage. I'm very happy. Stay away from him! Stay away from us!" Her desperate plea fell on deaf ears, and the following year, Maples and Donald were officially an item and divorce papers had been served. 

Even though Donald Trump had been married to the mother of his kids, Ivana Trump, for over a decade by the time Maples came onto the scene, she didn't consider herself a mistress. Perhaps that's why she didn't go to great lengths to hide her affair with Donald, despite her good, old-fashioned Southern Baptist upbringing. In the early days of her public relationship with the future president, Maples told Vanity Fair that she had never before considered striking up a relationship with a married man. "We can't really judge till we're there," she explained. "I found that out." 

During a 2018 interview on the ABC News podcast "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris," Maples explained that she didn't see herself as the other woman. "Every step of the way, I was praying, 'God, please be in this. Please be in this. I do not want to be part of breaking anything up that has a chance,'" she said, via People. She went on to admit that while she wishes they waited until after Donald divorced his wife, she believes that everything happened the way it did for a reason. When asked by Faris how she feels about the relationship now, she had nothing but positive things to say, per ABC News. "It was two people [who] came together that truly loved each other in a period of time. I wanted him to see how loved he could be for his soul, not for his money."

The tragic story of Donald Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples is complex, not least because of what happened to her in the early '90s. In a story that could (and should) be used as a cautionary tale for any young woman looking to make it big in America, Maples' own publicist turned on her in an alarming way. Chuck Jones had been a friend of the model before she met Trump, and took on the role of her publicist as her career started to blow up. When she was profiled by Vanity Fair in 1990, Jones was there to back her up. Things took a turn just a few short years later in 1994 when Jones was found guilty of stealing multiple pairs of shoes from Maples after a secret camera recorded him performing a sex act with them. 

According to FBI files, that wasn't the only personal item that Jones stole from his client, either. The publicist also allegedly stole lingerie and nude photos, claiming to have lost them. In response to the case brought against him, Jones tried to sue Trump in 1993, claiming that the businessman had given false stories about him to the press. Trump quickly hit back at Jones, telling reporters he just wanted easy money. "Chuck needs some serious psychological help," he said, per Deseret News. Though Jones was sentenced to jail time for his crimes against Maples, he came back to haunt her several years later by sending her abusive emails. 

The truth about Donald Trump's ex-wife, Marla Maples, isn't that she struck up an affair with a married man and they lived happily ever after. The tabloids were hot on Maples' every move from day one, and when her relationship with Trump was legitimized with their wedding in 1993, that didn't stop. Three years into their marriage, reporters at the National Enquirer told the billionaire that they were going to print a sensational story. This time, it was that Maples had cheated on him in a late-night beach romp with Trump's bodyguard. The entrepreneur was allegedly so angry that he threatened to destroy the paper if they dared to run with the headline, but they took a gamble and let it go to print. 

Maples released a statement adamantly denying the claim and saying she had simply stopped to pee while the bodyguard, Spencer Wagner, had stood guard. The following week, Trump even gave an interview to the National Enquirer stating how much he loved his wife (via Vanity Fair). Their joint protestations may have worked to placate the press for a while, but it wasn't long before Wagner defected and sold a story with the headline, "My Secret Affair with Marla" to the Globe. It took guts to go against someone as powerful as Trump — and Wagner was punished for it when Trump sued him for breaching a confidentiality agreement. According to Wagner's ex-wife, Mary Miller, the bodyguard couldn't get past the entire situation and turned to drugs. He died of an overdose in 2012. "It crushed him," Miller told Inside Edition. 

Amid the tabloid frenzy that followed Marla Maples and Donald Trump in the early '90s, there was one headline that would go on to be canon. The New York Post ran a full, front-page headline next to a picture of a smug-looking Trump that read in big, bold letters, "Marla boasts to her pals about Donald: Best Sex I've Ever Had" in 1990 (via The Hollywood Reporter). The headline, which spoke for itself, wasn't exactly a natural comment made by Maples, but rather part of Trump's media war against his spurned wife, Ivana Trump, who had left for Maples. The headlines reportedly came about when he called the paper asking for a front page spread, and when told that only a story about murder, money, or sex got top billing, he said the infamous line. When asked for proof, Trump asked Maples if she said it and she could be heard shouting, "Yes, Donald" in the background. 

The sensational headline made waves, further thrusting the couple into the spotlight. However, when asked by a New York Post reporter about the statement in 2018, Maples played it coy. "That was meant to be private. I never said that, someone else said that. [But] is it true? I'm not going to talk about that. The truth will come out, just not here," she said, according to Page Six. 

A peek inside Michael Bolton's dating history will show you that the pop lothario had a thing for beautiful and famous women, including Marla Maples. Donald Trump was open about Maples' infatuation with the singer and how it impacted their relationship in the early days when talking to Vanity Fair in 1994. Trump explained that when they temporarily broke up at one point, Bolton began to pursue Maples. The singer's interest in his mistress only spurred Trump on. "[Bolton] falls madly in love with her. Now, I say to myself, 'Wait a minute. I don't like this.' Michael Bolton — he's got the No.1 f***ing album in the world ... what that does to a guy like me, a competitive guy, it's like an affirmation that the girl has to be great." According to Trump, he confronted Maples about the love triangle and she chose to stay by his side, ditching a trip to Europe with Bolton. 

Though Trump knew on some level about Maples' relationship with Bolton, FBI files released in 2019 show that Maples' disgraced publicist, Chuck Jones, said that she enjoyed a romp with the singer when Trump was away on business. Talking to the Daily Mail, Maples vehemently denied that she was ever anything but the doting wife to her former husband. "I was always faithful to Donald and Michael was a wonderful person in my life," she said when a reporter quizzed her about the files.

Even before she met Donald Trump, Marla Maples had already found success, thanks in part to scooping up the title of Miss Hawaiian Tropic International in 1985. The draw of her beauty couldn't be underestimated, and Trump, ever the businessman, saw an opportunity there. During the '90s, Playboy Magazine was at its peak. Big names like Pamela Anderson had their careers boosted by appearing in the risque men's publication, and Trump didn't see why Maples couldn't do the same. Though she didn't go through with it, the situation caused a stir in 2016 when a newspaper clipping explaining Trump's involvement resurfaced. 

Chicago historian Jeff Nichols unearthed a story the New York Daily News ran in the early '90s, re-posting it to X (formerly Twitter.) In it, a Playboy editor recalled, "Trump himself was on the phone negotiating the fee." Ultimately, Maples turned it down, telling the reporter, "I'm thankful for my body, but I didn't want to exploit it. How would I ever be taken seriously?" Though Maples hasn't publicly spoken about this situation, many felt that it was an unfair position for Trump to put her in.

While Marla Maples and Donald Trump may have moved on from any shared drama years ago, one person couldn't let it be water under the bridge. The heartbreaking death of Ivana Trump in 2022 taught us that some emotional wounds can run long and deep, right until the end. In her autobiography released a few years before she died in 2017, "Raising Trump," Ivana made her feelings about Maples very clear. Not only did she take aim at the beauty queen for going after a married man, but for how her actions affected the children she shared with her ex. "She actively participated in humiliating me in the media and indirectly put my kids at risk for months," she wrote, per People. "I went through hell, and then I was expected to be okay with her being around my children?"

Not content with leaving it there, Ivana also had some things to say about Marples' choice to appear on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2016. She said her former love rival was a classless disgrace before further twisting the knife by adding that she had been asked to be on the show multiple times, but had opted to turn it down — despite being offered a hefty sum. Interestingly, Ivana did appear on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2018; albeit the Italian version. 

All of the Trump family members who have been divorced know what it's like to go through the court of public opinion. It's no easy task, and prenuptial agreements are usually key to making things as smooth as possible — but that doesn't mean that things can't get messy. Marla Maples and Donald Trump announced their split in 1997. ”After a long relationship and a three-and-a-half-year marriage, we have decided to separate, as friends,” read the statement, via the New York Times, originally published in the New York Post. At the time, their daughter, Tiffany, was just 4 years old. Though they may have wanted to keep things friendly, it didn't exactly work out that way. Sources told the New York Times that Trump's decision to divorce Maples was largely influenced by their prenup, which would grant her a sizable fortune after they had been together five years — which was fast approaching. Trump reportedly decided to get out before that due date. 

When they were in negotiations for the prenuptial agreement before they tied the knot, Maples asked for $25 million, but Trump only conceded $1 million, according to documents obtained by Vanity Fair. Maples reportedly felt under duress and agreed, under the promise they would renegotiate after five years. Little did she know that Trump would pull the rug out from under her before it got that far. Things got messy in court when Maples decided to fight the agreement, but she ultimately decided to give up against the advice of her attorney in 1999, walking away with just $2 million. 

By 1999, Marla Maples knew what it was like to get the same rough treatment as Donald Trump's last ex-wife, Ivana Trump. In the early days of her public relationship with Trump, Maples seemed largely unapologetic about having an affair with the businessman and essentially breaking up his marriage of over a decade. However, when her own divorce proceedings were wrapped up, Maples changed her tune considerably. When talking to the Daily Telegraph, Maples delivered a groveling apology to Ivana, and she didn't mince her words. Not only did she say how sorry she was, but she lambasted her ex-husband. 

"Donald was never the man I wanted to marry. He and his world were alien to me ... I'm so happy to be away from Donald and I'm just trying to move as far away as I can. Donald was obsessed with me and was always running after me. I couldn't get away," she said, per the New York Post. She blamed the relationship on her impressionable young age (when the romance started Maples was just 22) and that she thought she may be able to change him. After the story was published, a spokesperson for Maples shot it down, saying that her client's remarks were taken out of context.