TW: Mentions of sexual abuse.
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In total, Donald Trump has been married three times in his life, but it is common knowledge that the US president has had a few infidelities, one of which caused a rift in his first marriage with Ivana.
It was in 1977 that Donald Trump met the beautiful Ivana, a Czechoslovakian model. They embarked on a passionate relationship, which then deteriorated over the years, leading to divorce that was finalised in 1992. In her memoir Raising Trump, she said she knew her marriage was over when she ran into his mistress, and future second wife, Marla Maples.
The scene seemed right out of a film
It was a moment straight from a movie scene. Ivana and Donald Trump were on holiday at a resort in Pitkin County, in the west of Colorado, having dinner in a restaurant when Marla Maples arrived. On Christmas Eve 1991, she confessed her feelings to the future president's wife. Ivana revealed the interaction in her book:
This young blonde woman approached me out of the blue and said 'I'm Marla and I love your husband. Do you?'
I said 'Get lost. I love my husband.' It was unladylike but I was in shock.
What ensued was separation that unfolded in public, for the whole world to watch, as Trump was already a well-known figure in the business world and entertainment industry in the United States. The case made headlines in the tabloids, fuelling months of speculation about the details of their separation and the role Marla Maples would play in Donald Trump’s life.
Moreover, it was made even more complicated due to major accusations and money.
A complicated divorce
The former model initially accused her husband of raping her. However, she later retracted her statement, claiming, under oath, that she had actually felt 'violated as the love and tenderness, which he normally exhibited towards me, was absent.' She added, as reported by Daily Beast:
I referred to this as a 'rape,' but I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense.
Despite this major accusation, the two parties eventually found a way to conclude the separation amicably. They even ended up becoming friends as Ivana once said:
Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised 3 children that we love and are very proud of.
On Ivana’s side, she was compensated with $14 million (approximately £11.5 million). She also became the owner of two properties, one in New York and another in Florida. One was a flat and the other a house on the Mar-a-Lago estate. But even after her death in 2022, at the age of 73, Ivana remained and will always be remembered as Donald Trump’s first wife and the mother of three of his children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric Trump.
After the divorce, Ivana Trump continued her life by engaging in numerous business ventures. A savvy businesswoman, she invested in several companies and also wrote several books, some of which recounted her experiences and vision of success.
This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag DE.
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Source used:
Gala: Donald Trump et sa maîtresse repérés par Ivana : ces vacances au ski qui ont tourné au cauchemar
