NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump paid respects to his first wife, Ivana Trump, joining their three children Wednesday at a funeral Mass for the 1980s style icon and businesswoman who helped him build an empire that launched him to the presidency.
“A very sad day, but at the same time a celebration of a wonderful and beautiful life,” the ex-president wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, before heading to the funeral Mass.
“This will not be easy!!!” added Trump, who attended the service with his current wife, former first lady Melania Trump.
Donald and Ivana Trump’s three children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — and their families followed Ivana’s gold-colored coffin into St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Tiffany Trump, the daughter of the former president and his second wife, Marla Maples, also attended the service, as did family friends including Jeanine Pirro, co-host of Fox News’ “The Five,” and Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and the father of Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner. Fashion designer Dennis Basso, a longtime friend of Ivana Trump’s, was also among the mourners.
Trump’s family announced Thursday that the 73-year-old had died at her Manhattan home. Authorities said the death was an accident, with blunt impact injuries to her torso as the cause.
“We all want to remember Ivana as the vibrant, sociable person she was,” longtime friend R. Couri Hay said before the service.
Ivana and Donald Trump met in the 1970s and were married from 1977 to 1992. In the 1980s, they were a power couple, and she became well known in her own right, instantly recognizable with her blond hair in an updo and her glamorous look.
Ivana Trump also took part in her husband’s businesses, managing one of his Atlantic City casinos and picking out some of the design elements in New York City’s Trump Tower.
Their very public divorce was ugly, but in recent years they were friendly. Ivana Trump was an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and said they spoke on a regular basis.
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed.
Former President Donald Trump, center, waves as he arrives for the funeral for his ex-wife Ivana Trump, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in New York. Ivana Trump, an icon of 1980s style, wealth and excess and a businesswoman who helped her husband build an empire that launched him to the presidency, is set to be celebrated at a funeral Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church following her death last week.(AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife, in lobby of Trump Casino in Atlantic City, 1987. (Getty) 
Pallbearers carry the casket of Ivana Trump into St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in New York. Ivana Trump, an icon of 1980s style, wealth and excess and a businesswoman who helped her husband build an empire that launched him to the presidency, is set to be celebrated at a funeral Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church following her death last week. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 4: Billionaire Donald Trump and his wife Ivana arrive 04 December 1989 at a social engagement in New York. (Photo credit should read SWERZEY/AFP via Getty Images) 
Tiffany Trump, right, arrives with Michael Boulos for the funeral of Ivana Trump, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in New York. Ivana Trump, an icon of 1980s style, wealth and excess and a businesswoman who helped her husband build an empire that launched him to the presidency, is set to be celebrated at a funeral Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church following her death last week. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
NEW YORK – MAY 02: (L-R) Donald Trump, Jr., Ivana Trump and Jason Binn (R) chat during a “Spring Into Summer” cocktail reception hosted by Ivana Trump and Jason Binn, CEO of Niche Media (publisher of ‘Gotham’ and ‘Hamptons’ Magazines) on May 02, 2007 in New York City, USA. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) 
From right, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner arrive for the funeral of Ivana Trump, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in New York. Ivana Trump, an icon of 1980s style, wealth and excess and a businesswoman who helped her husband build an empire that launched him to the presidency, is set to be celebrated at a funeral Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church following her death last week. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
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) 
Donald Trump Jr. arrives for the funeral of Ivana Trump, Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in New York. Ivana Trump, an icon of 1980s style, wealth and excess and a businesswoman who helped her husband build an empire that launched him to the presidency, is set to be celebrated at a funeral Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church following her death last week. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) 
Businessman Donald Trump and his wife Ivana appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago, Illinois, April 25, 1988. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) 
Business man Donald Trump and his wife Ivana Trump introduce the press to preview the recently refurbished 300 foot yacht, The Trump Princess, which he bought for $29 million and spent another $10 million fixing up. The yacht features accomodations for two dozen, and contains a pool, heliport, 128 phones, two dining rooms and was anchored at the Water Club in July 1988 in New York, New York. (Photo by Tom Gates/Getty Images) 
FILE – Ivana Trump announces the new “Italiano Diet” to stay healthy and fight obesity at the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel on June 13, 2018, in New York. Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump, has died in New York City, the former president announced on social media Thursday. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File) 
FILE – Ivana Trump poses before the Baby Phat spring 2008 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, on Sept. 7, 2007. Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump, has died in New York City, the former president announced on social media Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)
