(The Hill) – Ivana Trump has died at 73, according to her ex-husband, former President Trump.
“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,” the ex-president said in a statement posted on Truth Social on Thursday.
Real estate tycoon Donald Trump and his wife Ivana are pictured aboard his giant yacht Trump Princess on the East River in New York City, July 1988. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler) 
Ivana and Donald Trump make their way past reporters as they leave court in New York, April 30, 1993. The couple said “I do” again, but it was to show that they understood an agreement that ends the disputes that have kept them in court almost since they divorced in 1991. (AP Photo/Betsy Herzog) 
FILE – In this file photo dated Monday, July 4, 1988, U.S. real estate developer Donald Trump and his wife, Ivana, pose with their new luxury yacht The Trump Princess docked at the 30th Street pier on the East River in New York City, USA. Nearly 30 years ago, Donald Trump was confident he would win the U.S. presidential election, as an independent in 1996, according to recently uncovered files from Czechoslovakia’s Communist-era secret police, released Thursday Jan. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, FILE) 
BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY – SEPTEMBER 21: (L-R) Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivana Trump, Eric Trump, Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner attend the 9th Annual Eric Trump Foundation Golf Invitational Auction & Dinner at Trump National Golf Club Westchester on September 21, 2015 in Briarcliff Manor, New York. (Photo by Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images) 
BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY – SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Donald Trump, Ivana Trump, Eric Trump and Lara Yunaska attend The Eric Trump 8th Annual Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club Westchester on September 15, 2014 in Briarcliff Manor, New York. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)
“She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life,” he said.
Two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that police are investigating whether Ivana Trump fell down the stairs and believe her death was accidental.
She was found unconscious near a staircase in the home, the people said. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The medical examiner’s office will determine an official cause of death.
The mother of the former commander in chief’s three eldest children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — the Czech Republic-born Ivana married the then-New York real estate developer in 1977.
In his statement, Trump called the couple’s children his ex-wife’s “pride and joy.”
“She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her,” Trump said. “Rest in peace, Ivana!” the 76-year-old former president wrote.
While the pair’s contentious divorce played out in the 1990s in the New York tabloids, the Trumps both described their relationship as friendly in recent years.
“He is my best supporter,” Ivana Trump said in 2016, when the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host had launched his White House bid.
“I think he would be a great president,” she said at the time.
Trump penned a book about motherhood, “Raising Trump,” in 2017.
In an interview to promote the book, she advised keeping kids “busy, busy, busy.”
“Because if you keep your kids busy, they have no time to get in trouble,” she said.
In a Truth Social post, Eric Trump called his mother “a survivor.”
“She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination,” her 38-year-old son said.
“She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
