Inside Ivana Trump's battle with obesity epidemic and her fear of 'losing' Donald Trump

“The obesity rate in the United States has reached epidemic proportions and together with my dear friend Gianluca Mech, we will be introducing the ‘Italiano Diet’ to Americans from coast to coast,” Ivana said in a statement at the time. “We have to fight this now because it is getting worse, particularly among young people who need to be taught how to eat and exercise correctly so that they can have a long and healthy life.”

Speaking to the New York Post, Ivana said she never had weight problems of her own. “I was always very disciplined - I didn’t gain weight my whole life,” she said. However, she had guilty pleasures just like everyone else, even appearing in ads for Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken in the past. She once said she would "dream" about eating KFC. “I have it once a year, and I’ll have it and won’t eat anything for two days,” she said.

Ivana often lectured her ex, former President Trump, over his love of fast food. “I can tell him 100 times, but he does what he wants anyway,” she said, noting that Trump had gained weight over the years. Nonetheless, she thought he was still in good shape. “He looks very, very good and is very healthy - his only weakness is the Big Mac, what can I tell you?” she said.

The late media personality also had stern words for her ex when he and his current wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, tested positive for Covid in 2020. “He was careless,” she told People at the time. “He didn’t think it would happen to him." She admitted that the news was “a little bit of a shock” because he's "the cleanest, healthiest person.” Ivana explained, “Not healthiest with food, but very healthy otherwise—always washes his hands and always is careful,” she added, reiterating that his “only weakness is food.” Nonetheless, she was worried about her ex's well-being. “I am afraid,” she said of Trump being hospitalized for the virus. “I’m going to be afraid until he gets well and he gets out of it.”

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Ivana and Donald tied the knot in 1977 and eventually divorced in 1992 following the real-estate mogul's public affair with model Marla Maples. The New York Fire Department told The Sun on Thursday, July 14, how they responded to Ivana's Manhattan residence on the Upper East Side at 12.39 pm after receiving a 911 call about a person in cardiac arrest. She was declared dead on arrival. Police are not considering her death suspicious at the time of publication and she appears to have died of natural causes.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Ivana Trump," the Trump family said in a statement confirming her demise. "Our mother was an incredible woman -- a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and a caring mother and friend. Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion, and determination," adding, "She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children, and ten grandchildren."