Ivana Trump, a longtime businessperson, and ex-wife of former President Donald Trump died on Thursday at her Manhattan home. She was 73. News of her death was announced by Donald Trump on his social media platform Truth Social. She was found "unconscious and unresponsive" at the bottom of a set of stairs hours before she had a hair salon appointment.
The New York Police Department said later Thursday there did not "appear to be any criminality" related to Ivana Trump's death. Authorities also believe that Ivanka Trump possibly suffered cardiac arrest. However, the official cause of her death is yet to be determined by a medical examiner.
End of An Eventful Life
Ivanka Trump, who shares three children – Donald Jr., Eric and Ivanka --- with the 45th president, was found "unconscious and unresponsive" in her New York City townhouse, hours before she had a hair salon appointment.
The socialite was discovered by a staff member entering the home in Manhattan soon before 1 p.m. on Thursday. According to detectives, she may have fallen after experiencing a medical crisis.
"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," he wrote. "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, Ivana!"
As of now, police aren't suspecting any foul play. They are investigating if Ivana Trump may have fallen down the stairs at her home on East 64th Street.
The New York Fire Department said that it responded to a report of a person having a cardiac attack at the home, and the timing and location of that reaction matched the ones the NYPD linked to Trump. The person was reportedly already dead when the fire department arrived.
Eric Trump wrote in part on Instagram that his mother was "a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend."
Ivanka Trump tweeted that she was "heartbroken by the passing of (her) mother," adding: "Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She lived life to the fullest -- never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance. I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always."
Star In Her Own Right
Ivana Trump was last seen alive on Wednesday at 4.30 pm when her housekeeper and assistant left the home, the person said. According to two people with knowledge of the situation, investigators believe that she died accidentally. An official cause of death will be established by the medical examiner's office.
Ivana Trump was last saw in public in New York City on June 22, when she was taken to a hair shop after leaving her Upper East Side residence.
According to her best friend Nikki Haskell, Ivana Trump was scheduled to travel for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak on Friday from New York to St. Tropez, France. Ivana had also planned to visit her regular salon on Thursday, in preparation for a St. Tropez getaway.
"She was leaving for St. Tropez tomorrow. This was going to be her first trip away since the pandemic. She was afraid of getting the virus," a distraught Haskell told Page Six on Thursday.
"She was my best friend. I met her the night she met Donald [Trump]... I can't even tell you how fabulous she was, just a great friend, and the most amazing, inspirational person," Haskell said.
Haskell told Page Six that throughout the epidemic, Ivana Trump was "completely locked down" and "wouldn't go anyplace" due to her extreme fear of contracting Covid-19. "She only walked from her house, to a restaurant next door, maybe one or two restaurants around the corner. That's it," she said.
However, Ivana Trump was now prepared to emerge from her COVID shell, and she even had plans to travel the globe with Haskell although he wasn't in the pink of her health. According to a family insider, Ivana Trump's health had been deteriorating over the previous few years.
Born Ivana Marie Zelnková, better known as Ivana Trump, was a competitive skier in her youth in Czechoslovakia, reportedly coming close to making the Olympic team.
She worked as a model in the early 1970s, and in 1976, she met Donald Trump, the man who would become her husband. A year later, they got married. Despite their 1992 divorce, she continued to use her ex-illustrious husband's last name.
Ivana Trump was renowned for her extravagant interior decorating style, her interest in finer things in life, and her big blonde hair.
She was thrown into the spotlight by her marriage to the then-real estate magnate, where she both excelled and failed. Ivana Trump was a mainstay of 1980s New York high society, calling celebrities like Michael Jackson her pals and frequently appearing on magazine and newspaper covers.
Throughout their 15-year marriage, Ivana Trump proudly served as the former president's employee. In the 1980s, she served as the CEO and president of the Trump's Castle casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as well as vice president of interior design for the Trump Organization and manager of the Plaza Hotel.
She alluded to the former president as "The Donald" frequently and claimed in an interview with Vanity Fair in 1988 that "Donald calls me his twin as a woman."
But after Donald Trump's affair with model Marla Maples became known, the power couple's marriage deteriorated. The two proceeded to be married and have a daughter, Tiffany Trump.
During her bitter divorce battle with Donald Trump, she also accused her former spouse of rape, which attracted attention from all around the world. Later, she denied the charge while Donald Trump was seeking the presidency in 2015.
In 2017, she told "CBS Sunday Morning" she turned down an offer from Donald Trump to be the ambassador to her native Czech Republic, citing her "freedom" and "perfect life."
