Ivana Trump, Donald’s first wife and the mother of his three oldest children, passed away last week at the age of 73. The Trump family has assembled in New York City to say goodbye to her.
Ivana’s remains were prepared at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home, and the family gathered there before proceeding to St. Vincent Ferrer Church on Lexington Avenue.
The family is anticipated to depart from the funeral and fly to New Jersey for a private reception at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
Donald Trump, a former president, appeared broken-hearted as he boarded the waiting limousine outside Trump Tower.
Later, he was joined by his third wife, former first lady Melania Trump, who welcomed Ivana to family gatherings and maintained a publicly amicable relationship with her.
Donald, who revealed the passing of his first wife last week, was spotted at the funeral home reassuring his 40-year-old daughter Ivanka before taking the group to waiting automobiles.
Jared, Ivanka’s husband, and their two sons Joseph, 8, and Theo, 6, were also present. Arabella, their 11-year-old daughter, was not present.
Alongside Donald Trump Jr. were his ex-wife Vanessa, their five kids, and his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle.
Eric Trump, 4, and Carolina, 2, were accompanied by their mother Lara and their two young daughters.
Ivana was a gorgeous woman who enjoyed skiing, dancing, and younger men. On Wednesday, socialites from New York City, Palm Beach, and Europe attended her burial.
Rich people gathered in the scorching heat outside St. Vincent Ferrer Church on Lexington Avenue with their funeral invitations in hand to hand to Secret Service and police officers at the doors.
Ivana was found last Thursday at the bottom of the stairs in the home she had lived in for 26 years on 64th Street, just a short distance from the church.
The block between Lexington Avenue and East 65th and 66th was surrounded by NYPD barriers on Wednesday while trucks from Greenscape Designs unloaded through the side door.
Soon after 11am, the church choir started to arrive, and police and secret service operatives began to confer and pace the pavement.
The first arrived with identification and printed forms, which a waiting agent carefully examined before opening the barricades just enough to admit the two middle-aged women inside.
In order to accommodate the photographers who focused their cameras on the church entrance, two sizable police vehicles were placed just across from the church’s massive front doors.
Small groups of individuals gradually assembled, drawn by the security measures put in place to keep everyone out save for those who had been given an invitation that featured a photo of Ivana in her prime skiing.
People stood motionless and gazed, perspiring under the heat of the Manhattan sun.
Ivanka and Jared were seen in Central Park earlier in the day pausing from their morning jog to take in Bethesda Fountain.
Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania took a flight from Florida to New York to announce the news of Ivana’s passing.
Last night, he paid another heartfelt homage to his ex-wife by telling his longtime friend and columnist for The New York Post, Cindy Adams: “She was fantastic. both inside and exterior are lovely. We started everything off, our lives together, with such a wonderful relationship.
Ivana, a Czechoslovakian skier turned model who immigrated to America at the start of the 1970s and became one of New York’s most famous first wives, was remembered during the memorial service, which was advertised as a “Celebration of Life.”
It was anticipated that all three of Ivana’s kids would speak during the service.
The family requested donations to Big and Small Dog Ranch Rescue in lieu of flowers.
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Don Jr.’s fiancée, was photographed in New York City on Tuesday morning before the scheduled service.
On Tuesday night, she was observed going to Ivana’s townhouse on 64th Street.
Ivana and Donald were wed from 1977 until 1992, a time she claims she raised their kids essentially by herself.
Later, in 2005, he wed Melania and Marla Maples.
According to family friends quoted by The New York Post, the former President is reportedly “extremely distraught” at the passing of his first wife, with whom he had a strong relationship.
Ivana had four marriages throughout her life; Donald was the second. Her first husband was the Austrian skier Alfred Winklmayr, whom she wed in 1971 in order to leave her native Czechoslovakia.
Ivana received an Austrian passport through Alfred, which she subsequently exploited to immigrate to Canada. Shortly later, she ended the marriage.
In 1976, while visiting New York City for business, she got to know Donald Trump.
She gave birth to their first child, Don Jr., that same year, and they got married the following year.
Next came Ivanka in 1981, then Eric in 1984.
After meeting and falling in love with Marla Maples, his second wife and the mother of his fourth child, Tiffany, Trump and Ivana divorced in 1992.
Ivana next wed Italian businessman Riccardo Mazzucchelli, but their union lasted only two years before ending in divorce in 1997. 2017 saw Mazzucchelli’s passing.
Rossano Rubicondi, referred to as her “boy toy,” was her fourth marriage. Their 2008 wedding garnered media gasps despite his being 23 years her senior.
Even after divorcing the next year, in 2009, the couple maintained their friendship. In October of last year, at the age of 48, Rossano passed away from melanoma-related complications.
All of Donald and Ivana’s children have openly shared how devastated they are by their mother’s passing.
Ivana was honoured as a “amazing woman” who was “a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and a devoted mother and friend” in a touching obituary that Eric, 38, Ivanka, and Don Jr. wrote for Dailymail.com hours after Ivana’s passing.
The joint statement highlighted the businesswoman’s difficult background behind the Iron Curtain and amazing migration to the US after fleeing communism in Czechoslovakia and then settling in Canada and New York City.
They said she will be “deeply missed” and that she “taught her children about courage and fortitude, kindness and dedication.”
In addition, he has been visiting his mother’s house frequently since her passing on Thursday. On Monday, he was seen leaving the house with a black plastic bag.
It’s unknown what will happen to the property now or if the family has removed any emotional objects from it since Ivana passed away.
Ivanka, 40, also praised their mother, describing her as “bold” and noting that she was always willing to take the required action.
She said last week in remarks to The New York Post: “Wicked. With vigour. She brought happiness and assurance.
Recognize that it was a result of her birth and upbringing. She was born in a communist nation.
“Out of denial. not existing. lack of anything. She had a background in the Czech Republic, which explained why she appreciated good things. For what was valuable. what was glamorous.
She was defined by her ability to see the best.
‘She was brave, yes. But she was always there for us, no matter what, where, or who she was. Always the one to contact.
She would serve in that capacity if necessary. Then did. Wash the dishes yourself, and you did.