Ivana Trump, first wife of former US president Donald Trump, dies aged 73

“I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social.

“She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life. Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!”

The Trump family also released a statement.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Ivana Trump. Our mother was an incredible woman — a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend. Ivana Trump was a survivor.

“She fled from communism and embraced this country,” the statement continued.

“She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren.”

A Czech-born ski racer and model, Ivana Trump married the future president in 1977.

She became an icon in her own right, dripping with ’80s style and elegance, complete with accent and her signature beehive hairdo.

She would eventually appear in the 1996 hit film The First Wives Club with the now-famous line, “Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember, don’t get mad, get everything.”

Partners in love and business — with her playing roles such as manager of one of his Atlantic City casinos — they were fixtures of New York’s see-and-be-seen scene before their equally public, and messy divorce after Mr Trump had met his next wife, Marla Maples.

During the split, Mrs Trump accused him of rape in a sworn statement in the early 1990s. She later said that she did not mean it literally, but rather that she felt violated.

However, in recent years, she had been on good terms with her former husband.

She told the New York Post in 2016 that she was both a supporter and adviser to the former president.

“I suggest a few things,” she told the paper.

“We speak before and after the appearances and he asks me what I thought.”

She said she advised him to “be more calm”.

“But Donald cannot be calm,” she added. “He’s very outspoken. He just says it as it is.”

However supportive, she occasionally ruffled feathers.

In 2017, while promoting a book, she told Good Morning America that she spoke to the then-president about every two weeks and had his direct White House number, but did not want to call too frequently “because Melania is there and I don’t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife, OK?” she said with a laugh. “I’m first lady, OK?”

Melania Trump’s spokesperson at the time responded, saying there was “clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise”.

She was born Ivana Zelnickova in 1949 in the Czechoslovak city of Gottwaldov, the former city of Zlin that just had been renamed by the Communists, who took over the country in 1948.

She was married four times, most recently to Italian actor Rossano Rubicondi.

The two divorced in 2009 after a year of marriage but continued to see each other off and on until 2019, when she told the New York Post the relationship had run its course.

He died last year of cancer aged 49.