Marla Maples' Diva Behavior Before Inauguration Day Proves She And Trump Aren't So Different

Marla Maples may have been better off for divorcing Donald Trump, but it seems she picked up one of his less desirable traits. Maples is the president's second ex-wife; the couple wed two months after welcoming their only daughter together, Tiffany Trump. Following the split three years later, Trump and Maples remained so cordial that she was invited to both of Trump's inaugurations. But just before her ex's first swearing-in, Maples reportedly pulled a diva act worthy of Trump's notoriously fragile ego.

Hairstylist Tricia Kelly dished to The Washington Post in 2017 that one of her clients connected her to Maples' assistant because Maples and Tiffany needed their hair done for the inauguration. Kelly says she agreed to take the job for $200, but the assistant tried to convince her to work for free. The social media clout, said the assistant, would be compensation enough. A "stunned" Kelly backed out of the deal, but it doesn't end there: After the WaPo reached out to Maples' rep, Kelly says her client circled back to her with a threat — "You are messing with the president of the United States" — and a plea that the second Mrs. Trump needed those free services. Money had been tight since Maples stopped receiving child support from her ex, the client said: "She is used to a certain lifestyle, and you don't understand that." 

Kelly thought it was important to share the women's "entitled" behavior, particularly since other White House staffers have no issue paying for services like hers. "It seemed like they were trying to see how much they could get for free based on their names," she told the outlet.

In a 2016 interview with People, Marla Maples denied being a golddigger wife to ex Donald Trump. "I was never with him for his money. I wasn't there for the glamorous life or the riches," she insisted. Yet her post-divorce life is far from deprived, which would certainly explain her alleged diva attitude over her inauguration hairstyling. Maples and Trump are totally different in many ways — she's all about wellness, he's all about McDonald's — but they both enjoy luxuries reserved for the one-percenters. Maples regularly attends black-tie charity functions, movie screenings, and even dinners at Mar-a-Lago.Her many travels include stops in Croatia, Tuscany, and Alaska. For someone who once claimed she was "uncomfortable" wearing fancy gowns, she certainly does it often enough post-Donald. And she didn't hesitate to send daughter Tiffany to an elite prep school and prestigious colleges.

In fact, Maples' cringey vibes show she fits right in with the Trumps. Just as Donald Trump has shilled $60 Bibles and $99 digital trading cards to fans who can barely afford to keep their cars running, the Global Wellness Forum co-founder has no trouble urging her followers to get healthy through a variety of products she promotes on her website. For instance, a month's worth of the daily probiotics Maples recommends goes for just under $70, and her preferred water filtration system is $8,700 for a total home outfitting. It seems odd that a woman who can afford to go skiing in Utah and diving in the Adriatic Sea would balk at shelling out $200 for a hairdo, but there you go.