Ivana Trump, the first wife of Donald Trump and businesswoman, died from blunt force injuries to her torso.
The former president announced that Ivana Trump died aged 73 at her luxurious Manhattan townhouse.
However, he didn’t include any details about the cause or manner of her death.
Initial reports stated that Ivana suffered from cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead by paramedics on Thursday.
The late Ivana was a socialite in New York in the 1980s after marrying Donald Trump in 1977, and their messy divorce, which was finalized in 1992, was the subject of intense public interest.
Ivana is the mother of Donald Trump’s three eldest children: Ivanka, Eric, and Donald Jr.
Ivana Trump’s death was ruled accidental
A spokesperson for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed reports that Ivana Trump fell and was found at the bottom of her NYC townhouse stairs.
Her death was ruled accidental and police said in a separate statement that there did “not appear to be any criminality” involved in her death, according to The Guardian.
Ivana went on a book tour after the release of her 2017 memoir Raising Trump.
In the book, she wrote about her friendship with Donald Trump after their divorce and said she spoke to him regularly.
The Trump family released a joint statement praising Ivana as “a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend”.
Ivanka Trump released a separate statement paying tribute to her late mother on Instagram.
“Heartbroken by the passing of my mother. Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She modeled strength, tenacity and determination in her every action. She lived life to the fullest — never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance,” she wrote in the caption, continuing:
“I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always. ❤️”
Ivana Trump’s friend said she always feared falling down ‘treacherous stairs’
Nikki Haskell a close friend of the late Ivana, according to Extra TV gave details about her final days and revealed she feared falling down the staircase at her townhouse.
“I have to tell you something — that has always been my fear. She had one of those really beautiful staircases that was impossible to walk down. Narrow in the inside and wider as it got out. I was always afraid that she would fall. I don’t know what happened, but it’s not hard for me to believe that’s what happened — treacherous stairs.”
According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults age 65 and older and the number of injuries is increasing.
I fell down my stairs inside my condo in my mid sixties and was pretty scary. Luckily had no injuries, stairs were carpeted. Few years later moved to a single level home. As we age slip and falls can be deadly.