POWER COUPLE
Turned split to strength
Ivana Trump parlayed her marriage to Donald Trump into powerful positions in his real-estate empire, and their blockbuster divorce turned her into a celebrity who advised women: “Don’t get mad — get everything!”
The former skier and model from Czechoslovakia was described in a 1988 Vanity Fair profile titled “Power Blonde” as “every bit as driven and disciplined as her husband, though more privately so.”
But his infamous affair with Marla Maples catapulted Ivana to the front pages as she battled over terms of their epic 1991 split. In the years after, Ivana authored thinly disguised novels, wrote advice columns and hawked jewelry, clothing and beauty products on cable TV shopping networks.
HOW THEY MET
Ivana and Donald met in 1976 at Maxwell’s Plum, an Upper East Side restaurant and singles bar. “Ivana told me a story about how she couldn’t get a table and Donald, this handsome guy, walked up to her and got her a table,” said Todd Shapiro, her friend and former publicist. “They were both young. She was a model at the time. So Ivana went back to her girlfriends and said, ‘I got good news, and I got bad news. The good news, we got a table. The bad news is we gotta sit with this guy.’ ” Shapiro added, “When she got out of Maxwell’s Plum, there was Donald Trump with a limousine, standing outside waiting for her. “The only problem was, according to Ivana, Donald’s limousine driver had off, so Donald had to drive the limo himself,” he said. “She wound up leaving her boyfriend.”
FURY ON THE SLOPES
Ivana and Maples, who later became the second Mrs. Trump, were introduced Dec. 28, 1989, during a party in Aspen, Colo., where Donald’s philandering was an open secret.
The women parted without incident but met again two days later at a popular lunch spot on Ajax Mountain where Maples confronted her lover’s wife — in his presence, according to a source who heard about the incident.
“I love him and if you don’t, why don’t you let him go?” Maples demanded.
Ivana erupted, cursing at Maples and furiously mispronouncing her name as “Moolah,” after which Donald told her, “You’re overreacting,” the source said.
THE FIRST WIVES CLUB
After divorcing Donald in December 1990, Ivana was among several bold-face names who made cameo appearances in the 1996 hit comedy “The First Wives Club.” The movie starred Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton as divorcees seeking revenge against their ex-husbands for leaving them to marry younger women.
In her memorable appearance, Ivana told the trio, “Ladies, you have to be strong and independent.
“And remember: Don’t get mad — get everything!”
Under terms of a 1987 postnuptial agreement, Ivana received a $10 million, lump-sum payment from Donald, who also agreed to pay her $350,000 a year in maintenance.
CAMPAIGN ADVISER
Ivana said she served as a sounding board for her ex, whom she famously dubbed “The Donald” in a 1989 interview with Spy magazine.
“We speak before and after the appearances, and he asks me what I thought,” she said.
Her advice often amounted to “be more calm.” “But Donald cannot be calm,” she said.