“He Acted Like a…” – Ivana Trump’s Memoir Reveals Shocking Details About Donald Trump Before the Fame

Ivana Trump’s first encounter with Donald Trump in 1976 was the kind of meeting that feels accidental at first but changes everything. At the time, she wasn’t searching for a husband, let alone a man who would one day become one of the most talked-about presidents in American history.

Donald, then a young Manhattan businessman, already had the kind of presence that could fill a room — confident, loud, and determined to stand out. Ivana, on the other hand, was a striking Czech model who had traveled from Montreal to New York for what she thought would be a brief visit.

As Ivana later recalled in her memoir Raising Trump, Donald had managed to secure “the best table in the place” for her and a few other models. His charisma was obvious, but it wasn’t what truly caught her attention. What impressed her most was his ability to behave like a gentleman. “We made polite small talk,” she wrote. “No funny stuff at all. He sensed correctly that flirting would not work with me and acted like a gentleman.”

Still, that first meeting left a mark. Within a week, Donald was calling Ivana from New York, sending her a hundred roses — an unmistakable gesture of grand romance. Soon after, he even flew to Canada just to watch her walk the runway. It was extravagant, impulsive, and bold — exactly the kind of move that would later define him.

At that point, Ivana was seeing someone else casually, but Donald’s persistence slowly changed the dynamic. When she later moved to New York, their flirtation evolved into something serious. He whisked her away on a Christmas trip to Aspen — a getaway she described as their “most romantic time.

Between fine dining in the city’s best restaurants and phone calls “every other day,” Donald made his intentions clear. On New Year’s Eve, he looked her in the eye and said, “If you don’t marry me, you’ll ruin your life.” It wasn’t exactly smooth charm, but it worked — she said yes.

Their wedding was no ordinary affair either. They were married in April 1977 at Marble Collegiate Church by Norman Vincent Peale, the well-known preacher and author of The Power of Positive Thinking. Ironically, Peale’s teachings about confidence and optimism would later shape Donald Trump’s own public persona. Together, Ivana and Donald became one of New York’s most glamorous power couples.

Throughout the 1980s, the Trumps were fixtures in tabloids and magazines. They had three children — Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — and their empire seemed unstoppable. Ivana wasn’t just the wife of a businessman; she was a businesswoman in her own right. She ran the Trump Castle in Atlantic City and took charge of the interior design of Trump Tower, infusing it with her distinctive taste for luxury and elegance. She was, as many described her, Donald’s partner in stilettos — ambitious, stylish, and fiercely driven.

But all empires have their cracks. In 1989, during a family ski trip to Aspen, everything changed. Ivana had an uncomfortable encounter with a woman named Marla Maples — the woman who would later become Donald’s second wife. According to Ivana’s account, Maples approached her and said bluntly, “I’m Marla, and I love your husband. Do you?” Ivana, stunned but defiant, replied, “Get lost. I love my husband.” That brief exchange ignited a media firestorm that dominated headlines.

The couple’s marriage fell apart soon after. Their divorce became one of the most publicized in New York history, lasting eleven days in court and filling newspapers with every detail. Although Ivana’s settlement — reportedly worth $14 million, plus a mansion and special access to Mar-a-Lago — softened the financial blow, she accused Donald of harsh treatment during their legal battle. Still, despite the chaos, time eventually cooled their resentment.

Years later, Ivana described Donald as “a good father” and said that they had managed to become “companionable co-parents.” They both rebuilt their lives and found a way to respect each other’s roles in their shared history. When Ivana passed away in 2022, Donald called her “a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman,” a rare glimpse of tenderness from a man known more for his public battles than his emotions.

Ivana Trump’s story reveals a side of Donald Trump that existed before politics, before the presidency, and before the controversies that defined his later years. She saw the drive, the ego, the confidence — and she helped shape it. But she also built her own empire, defined by her independence, resilience, and flair for glamour. Even after heartbreak, she turned her pain into strength and her image into legend. Ivana Trump remained, until the end, a woman who knew how to make an entrance — and an even greater exit.