The Truth About Donald Trump's Ex-Wife, Ivana Trump

Ivana Trump was a Czech Republic native and former President Donald Trump's first wife (via Biography). She married the business mogul in 1977, and they would go on to have a highly-publicized marriage that lasted over a decade. The two also shared three children together — Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump. However, before Ivana Trump was a Trump, she accomplished many impressive things. In fact, many people may not know she was actually a decorated competitive athlete in her youth.

In the aftermath of the heartbreaking death of Ivana Trump, she has mostly been talked about in the context of being the former President's ex-wife and the mother of her well-known children. However, there is more to know about Ivana than simply her association with one of the most controversial political figures in modern history, and the truth about Donald Trump's ex-wife may be surprising to you.

Ivana Trump was born Ivana Zelnickova to a telephone operator and electrical engineer, per Newsweek, and became a competitive skier in what is now known as Czech Republic. She started skiing as young as six years old. She would go on to compete in the sport through her teenage years and college. Ivana was even, according to her, selected as an alternate to represent her country in the 1972 Olympics. However, this claim is unproven, according to Snopes. "She was always ambitious," her mother, Marie Zelnickova, told Newsweek in 2017.

Ivana even married before becoming a Trump, and her first husband was to a fellow skier, Alfred Winklmayr (via Page Six). Newsweek reports that Ivana's first marriage was for a passport, which is why their marriage was short-lived. After a stint in Canada as a ski instructor, she started modeling and moved to New York City. You can imagine who she would go on to meet upon relocating to the city that never sleeps.

Ivana Trump met Donald Trump in New York in 1976, according to Town & Country. According to Ivana's publicist, the two met at a bar where Donald got her and her friends a table (via New York Post). Her publicist said she went back to her friends to tell them, "I got good news and I got bad news. The good news, we got a table. The bad news is we gotta sit with this guy." The two ended up hitting it off, and a year later, she became Mrs. Donald Trump. 

Their union would last for 14 years. The couple welcomed three children together: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump, all of whom are today visible members of the former President's team. Ivana was also involved in her husband's businesses, as vice president of interior design for the Trump Organization and managed Trump's casino and the Plaza Hotel (via NPR). The two also became fixtures on the 1980s society scene.

An alleged affair with Donald's eventual second wife, Marla Maples, contributed to the end of their marriage in '90. According to Elite Daily, Ivana received somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million in the divorce settlement, which included property in Florida, Connecticut, and New York.

Ivana Trump still searched for romance after her 14-year-long marriage with Donald Trump ended. In the aftermath of their highly publicized divorce, Ivana Trump remarried Italian businessman Riccardo Mazzuchelli in 1995, according to Biography. However, their marriage was short-lived, culminating in their divorce just two years later.

Ivana Trump went on to remarry again in 2008, choosing Rossano Rubicondi as her fourth and final husband, according to Biography. Their wedding was at Donald Trump's Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, according to People. "I am so happy my friends from around the world came to be with me on my wedding day," Ivana told the outlet leading up to the wedding.

However, their fairytale also didn't last long at all. The couple split in December of that year, citing that they wanted to live in different cities as the reason their marriage didn't work, per Biography. The two also had a pretty big age gap between them, with Ivana being 59 when she married Rubicondi, who was 36.

Ivana Trump later split her time among New York, Miami, and Saint-Tropez according to Town & Country. During her life, Ivana has written multiple books, which included "For Love Alone," "The Best Is Yet to Come: Coping With Divorce and Enjoying Life Again," and "Raising Trump" (via Amazon). The latter was her final book and a memoir about raising her three children. When talking about the memoir, Ivana said, "Every day, people ask me how I raised such great kids. ... They are truly amazed when I tell them that there was no magic to their upbringing" (via People). 

Along with her books, Ivana also has dabbled in fashion, fragrance, wines, and TV and movie cameos. You may remember seeing her in "The First Wives Club." According to Entertainment Weekly, her famous line in the film was, "Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember ... Don't get mad. Get everything!"

While the cameo could be a knock to her ex, Donald Trump, Town & Country reported that years after a reportedly-nasty divorce, Ivana and Donald enjoyed a good relationship.

In addition to her three children, Ivana Trump had 10 grandchildren. She reportedly doted on her family in her final years, but according to an interview with People, her grandchildren weren't allowed to call her "grandma." "Calling me Grandma is out of the question. It's Glam-ma!" she told People in 2011.

Former President Donald Trump reacted to the death of his first wife by taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, and penning a heartfelt tribute.

"I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City. She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace!"