What Ivana Trump Was Doing In Her Final Days
On July 14, 2022, Ivana Trump, a former model and Donald Trump's first wife, died at 73 years old. In a statement released to ABC News, the former president and his family confirmed the news. Ivana and Donald Trump shared three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump. Together for 14 years before splitting in 1992, their relationship was rocky at first after the divorce, but it strengthened to the point that Trump saw her as an adviser, per New York Post.
There are many truths that people do not know about Ivana. In the Trump family's statement to ABC, they reflected on her legacy. "Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend," their statement read in part. They called her a survivor for escaping communism in her hometown of Zlin, Czech Republic, as per Newsweek, and reflected on the values she instilled in them.
The former president also spoke about her heartbreaking death in a post on his platform Truth Social (via Deadline). "She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life," he wrote. "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, Ivana!"
Ivana Trump spent her final days with family
A source close to Ivana Trump's only daughter Ivanka Trump told the New York Post that her final days were spent with family. The Daily Mail reports that her last public appearance was June 22 when she was spotted heading to a hair appointment with her aide at her side.
The source also revealed to the New York Post that Ivanka was completely devastated over her mother's death. They shared that the pair had a very close relationship. This isn't surprising, as Ivanka has repeatedly spoken about her mother fondly.
In a December 2010 tweet, Ivanka revealed that she was named after her mother and that "Ivanka" is a Czech nickname. "My actual name is Ivana," she wrote. "In Czech, Ivanka is the baby name for Ivana, like Bobby is to Robert." Ivanka once told O, The Oprah Magazine that during her childhood, she traveled often with her namesake and would collect flowers (which she'd then dry and turn into paperweights) as a souvenir.
Before she died, she was planning a trip to the south of France
Though she was known for her glamorous lifestyle, Ivana Trump was rarely in the spotlight. The businesswoman traveled often before slowing down due to the COVID pandemic, according to Australian News.
On July 14, her best friend Nikki Haskell told Page Six that Ivana was planning a French getaway before she died. What's even more heartbreaking is that Ivana planned on leaving the next day. "She was leaving for St. Tropez tomorrow," Haskell revealed."This was going to be her first trip away since the pandemic. She was afraid of getting the virus." Haskell spoke in great detail to the entertainment outlet about Ivana's fears and anxiety over COVID-19 and shared that this was a significant part of why she kept to herself. According to Haskell, Ivana put traveling on hold and rarely visited places outside of her neighborhood, but was hoping this trip would ease her discomforts.
She added that Ivana was excited about visiting Europe again, and even had future plans for a longer trip. "We were contemplating taking a trip around the world this January — take two months off and take a trip around the world," Haskell shared with the outlet (via Page Six). "I just can't believe it," she said.
She visited her favorite restaurant the day before
In the days leading up to her death, Ivana Trump stopped by her favorite Italian restaurant. Altesi Ristorante owner Paola Alavian told The U.S. Sun that the socialite ate at the restaurant on Wednesday, July 13. He also commented on her apparent health and shared that he didn't notice anything amiss at the time. "As always she asked me how I was doing — she was always supporting us — and we just shared an extremely normal conversation, the kind I had almost every day I saw her," he explained.
In his conversation with the outlet, Alavian added that Ivana only ate a little and seemed tired at the time, but nothing that was cause for concern. He then reminisced on their friendship over the years, and shared that everyone saw her as a motherly figure. "She was just an excellent human; she was a really, really good person," he added (via the U.S. Sun).
After news of her death broke, R. Couri Hay, publicist and Ivana's close friend of 40 years, called it "an end of a New York era", as reported by the New York Daily News.