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Ivanka Trump has shared a deeply personal and emotional reflection on the loss of her mother, Ivana Trump, nearly four years after her passing.
Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett, Ivanka became visibly emotional as she described both the pain of losing her mother and the lasting lessons she carries with her. "She was extraordinary," Ivanka said through tears. "She lived a good life... she had fun. She taught me a lot."
Ivana Trump died in July 2022 at the age of 73 after falling down a flight of stairs at her Manhattan home. For Ivanka, the suddenness of the loss made it even harder to process. "Losing a parent, it hits different, especially unexpectedly," she said. "Especially post-COVID, which robbed so many of us of so many years."
At the time of her mother's death, Ivanka was based in Washington, D.C. She acknowledged that distance, both physical and situational, added another layer to her grief. "There was distance there, just geographically," she explained, reflecting on how life circumstances can complicate relationships and loss.
Still, rather than focusing only on the loss, Ivanka said she has made a conscious effort to celebrate her mother's life and keep her memory alive within her family. "She was very herself," Ivanka said. "She was very joyful and she loved to dance and loved to play—so she lived a good life."
One of the most important values Ivana passed down, she added, was the idea of living with intention, being deliberate and thoughtful in everything you do. It's a lesson Ivanka says she now tries to embody in her own life.
As a mother of three with husband Jared Kushner, Ivanka said her role as a parent has made her even more aware of the importance of preserving her mother's legacy. "It's so important," she said, "to make sure they're exposed to all the elements of her that were amazing and share the story."
She explained that she wants her children to know their grandmother not just through memories, but through stories, values and traditions that continue to live on.
Ivanka also revealed that her understanding of her mother has evolved over time. Instead of seeing Ivana only through the lens of admiration as a child, she now reflects on her as an adult, with a fuller, more nuanced perspective.
"I took the time to think about her not through the eyes of the child who idolized her but through the eyes of an adult who saw her clearly," she said. "Her strengths, her challenges..."
That shift, she suggested, has helped her process grief in a more grounded and meaningful way, allowing her to honor her mother not just as an icon in her life, but as a complex and real person.
