Ivanka Trump reveals 'unbelievably nurturing' living arrangement with grandmother

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: Ivanka Trump appeared in a video interview on ‘The Diary of a CEO’ on Wednesday, April 8, where she spoke about living with her grandmother Marie Zelnickova and reflected on the important role she plays in her daily life and within the family.

She also spoke about her family, particularly her mother Ivana Trump, becoming emotional as she recalled her upbringing and the lasting influence of her life and passing. She died from blunt force injuries to her torso sustained after an accidental fall at her Manhattan home.

Ivanka Trump highlights her grandmother's enduring presence and love

During the interview, Ivanka spoke about her grandmother, Marie, who remains an important presence and now lives with her family in Florida. She shared that her maternal grandparents played a major role in raising her and her siblings, describing her grandmother as “unbelievably nurturing.”

She said her grandmother taught her “a type of unconditional love and tenderness,” and called having her at home “a blessing.” Ivanka added that caring for her grandmother is meaningful for her and her children, saying it is a privilege to be there for her “in just a small fraction of the way that she was there for me.”

She also noted that for her grandmother, “food was very much an expression of love.”

She also spoke about her mother, who was born Ivana Zelnickova in 1949 in the Czechoslovak city of Gottwaldov (formerly Zlin), which had been renamed after the Communists took control of the country in 1948. She described her mother as an “incredible trailblazer” who gave her an example of “strength and resilience and glamour and determination and ambition.” 

Ivanka also further emphasized her mother’s personality, saying, “She was very herself, and she was very joyful. And she loved to dance, and she loved to play. She showed me a lot at a time when not many women were doing what my mother was doing inside the boardroom and on the construction sites."

Ivana Trump’s legacy, family life, and Ivanka Trump’s emotional reflections

Ivana married President Donald Trump in 1977, and together they had three children Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric. The couple were both life and business partners, with Ivana taking on important roles such as managing one of Trump’s Atlantic City casinos. 

They became prominent figures in New York society before their highly publicized divorce in the early 1990s. Ivana was also involved in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, offering both support and advice. Ivanka later called her mother an “unbelievable role model… for what is possible,” adding that she taught her “about just bringing intention to what you do.”

She also noted that her mother emphasized independence, saying she “couldn’t do it alone, and she wasn’t pretending she could.”

Ivanka further shared that her parents worked to keep their children grounded, and she recalled that her father was always present despite his public life. “There was never a doubt in my mind that I was his top priority and that he was available to me,” she said.

During the interview, She became visibly emotional as she reflected on her mother’s death in 2022. She paused several times while speaking about the loss, explaining that she later spent time studying her mother’s life to understand her more deeply. 

She said, “I understand her better today than I did in some ways in her life. I see her more fully, She lived a good life.”