The Truth About Ivana's Relationship With Donald Trump Now

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Ivana Trump often popped up in the headlines with exclusive interviews and her thoughts on the one-term President Donald Trump. She released a book called "Raising Trump," which featured her commentary on her ex-husband, and she continuously shed light on her relationship with the real estate mogul-turned-politician.

From her stance on immigration to her thoughts on who the real first lady was, Ivana certainly kept curious Americans on their toes. Had she always been a supportive ex? To an extent. Had she always sung Donald's praises? Absolutely not. Did she think her ex-husband would win reelection? A resounding yes. All of these questions point to the very rollercoaster-like relationship between the couple that were married for 14 years.

To get to the bottom of what Ivana really thought about Donald over the years, what their dynamic was like, and how she imaged her kids would recover from the presidency, we combed through every corner of the internet to get a sense of what went down. Here is the truth about Ivana's relationship with Donald Trump.

We love a woman who knows her worth, and Ivana Trump knew just how much she benefited the Trump Organization and, furthermore, Donald Trump's image. She served as a senior executive for seven years and even was the president of Trump's Castle located in Atlantic City (via News.com.au). And according to her, she knew just how much strength she added to her ex-husband's brand, and she claimed in an interview with Time that "it wouldn't have happened without her." 

As she grew in her stature and success, overseeing casinos and Trump Plaza, her marriage began to crumble — and she had an idea as to why. "I think Donald probably felt a little bit jealous of my success. And I felt it," she told Time. "There was nothing really he could do. He saw how much profit I made, so he would never fire me from Atlantic City. He would never fire me from Plaza Hotel because I did such a great job. And maybe he resented it a little bit." 

She later wrote in her book, "Raising Trump," "In our marriage there couldn't be two stars. So one of us had to go."

It seems like most people grew tired of the 2020 presidential election before it even began. After it ended, Ivana Trump shared her thoughts on the whole ordeal. 

In October 2020, the president's first wife revealed that she thought her ex-husband would win reelection come November. "He will win," she told People. "There's no question about it." But after he lost, Ivana wanted the whole election and all the drama that went with it to be left in the dust. "I just want this whole thing to be over with, one way or the other," Ivana told People in another interview. "I really don't care." 

A close source to the Trump team told People that there was "chaos" among Donald's immediate family, and "that they haven't fully realized the election results because 'nobody was expecting it.'" The source called the whole election ordeal a "headache," clearly a sentiment that Ivana has echoed. If one thing ws clear, though, Ivana was more than ready for the 2020 election to be over. 

There was much speculation as to what Donald Trump would do upon leaving the White House. He was the first incumbent president to lose reelection since George H.W. Bush, and with that legacy comes uneasy political footing. According to the BBC, Donald had a couple of options — he could return to the Trump Organization, make his way back to television, or even try to run for a second term come 2024. 

But as far as Ivana Trump saw it, she believed the one-term president would retire from politics. "I don't think he has a choice," Ivana told People. "He's going to go down to Palm Beach and play golf and live the normal life, I think. This is the best choice for what he can do." Presidential retirement doesn't sound too bad either. As noted by the BBC, former presidents get a lot of perks, including a pension of over $200,000 a year, a lifetime of Secret Service protection, health benefits, and travel expenses. "He has plenty of money, places to go and live in and enjoy his life," Ivana said. 

Donald Trump said some pretty offensive statements during his time in office, as noted by Politico. But despite the comments he has made regarding other countries, Ivana Trump did not think her ex-husband to be a racist. 

After Donald described Haiti, El Salvador, and other African nations in an offensive way, he came under intense fire, but his ex-wife defended him. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Ivana said that he often made "silly" comments (via Independent). "Sometimes he says things that are silly," she said, before adding that she didn't think her ex would "do anything irrational." She went on, saying, "When he tweets it's out of his mouth, and sometimes it might not be clear, but at least it is exactly what he thinks." 

Well, others did not take well to what Donald was thinking. UN Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville thought of the president's characterization as "racist," but clearly Ivana disagreed.

In her book "Raising Trump," Ivana Trump flat-out wrote that the credit for raising her kids — and raising them well — belongs to her. 

"Some people — including Hillary Clinton — consider [the kids] to be Donald Trump's finest accomplishments," Ivana wrote, as noted by Time. "I believe the credit for raising such great kids belongs to me." And despite the very messy public blunders that her children made while in the White House — think Ivanka's fashion line violating over 20 international standards — Ivana claimed that people in the street have asked her what she did to raise such good kids. 

"When Donald started to campaign, he was going on the debates, and [the kids] were going with him to rallies, people came to know them," Ivana told Time. "On the street and in the airport, total strangers were coming to me and they'd say, 'Ivana, how did you do it, to raise such a fabulous kid?'" 

Like Donald Trump's current wife, Melania, Ivana Trump is an immigrant to the United States. So it came as a surprise when she agreed with her ex-husband's hardened perspective on immigration once he became president. As noted by Time, Ivana had become desensitized to the issue of immigration after spending time in Europe. 

"There are millions and millions of immigrants, which are coming from Syria," she told the magazine. "They don't have education. They don't know our culture. They don't know how to dress to fit in. And so it's a disaster." She also echoed support of her ex-husband's efforts to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico. 

The comments were shocking given Ivana's own immigration story. She later told People that she had "no problem" with immigrants coming to the United States, but doubled down on her previously shared thoughts. "I have absolutely no problem with the immigrants, but they have to come to the country legally," she told People. "They have to get a job, they have to pay taxes like the rest of Americans and just live and be well and just [mesh] into the society."

When asked about her ex-husband's approach to COVID-19, which he eventually contracted himself, Ivana Trump said that he was "careless." According to People, Ivana kept in contact with her three children while Donald was being treated for the illness, saying that it was a very difficult time. 

"I spoke to all my kids and they, of course, are worried," she said, but she went on to say that her husband should have been more careful. "He didn't think it would happen to him," she concluded. NPR has since reported that Donald downplayed the severity of COVID-19, even after he found out just how dangerous the illness was. Even so, Ivana said that she was surprised when she found out that he had gotten sick given that he is, as she said, "the cleanest, healthiest person."

"I just hope he's going to get out of it and be healthy," Ivana later told People. "But who knows what will happen, because I don't know anything about this virus and nobody else does and nobody knows how to cure it." As we know, Donald did recover and made quite the show when he returned to the White House.