The women of the Trump family have undoubtedly captured the public’s attention almost as much as Donald Trump himself, the former 45th and 47th President of the United States. From Melania Trump, his current wife, and daughters Ivanka and Tiffany, to daughters-in-law Vanessa and Lara Trump, late ex-wife Ivana, and estranged niece Mary Trump, these women have been at the center of numerous headlines. Often, their interactions with one another have sparked these stories.

Within this prominent political family, some women share warm relationships, while others maintain a more formal, distant connection, only engaging during public events. There are even those whose interactions could rival the dramatic confrontations of an ’80s TV soap opera. Let’s delve into the complex dynamics between these prominent women of the Trump family.

Ivanka Trump, like her brothers Eric and Donald Jr., was already an adult when their father married for the third time. As a result, Melania Trump has never assumed a traditional parental role with them. In her 2024 memoir, she reflects on joining the Trump family, saying, “Stepping into a marriage with Donald, I found myself navigating the intricate dynamics of his big family” (via Variety). She describes these experiences as opportunities for growth and connection.

Like her brothers Eric and Donald Jr., Ivanka Trump was already well into adulthood when their father walked down the aisle for a third time. So, it stands to reason that Melania Trump has never felt the need to fulfill a parental role, as she explained in her self-titled 2024 memoir.

“Stepping into a marriage with Donald, I found myself navigating the intricate dynamics of his big family,” she wrote (via Variety). “It demanded flexibility and openness, but each moment was a chance to connect, learn, and grow in this new environment.” The First Lady went on to reveal that love and respect have always been at the forefront of her relationships with Donald Trump’s offspring. “I recognize their individuality, understanding that, as their stepmother, my role is not to replace their mothers but to nurture a supportive and amicable connection.”

Melania, who’s said to have changed forever after getting wed to Donald, made a similar point during an interview with Harper’s Bazaar in 2016, the same year her husband ascended to the White House. “They are grown-up,” she said of her stepchildren. “I don’t see myself as their mother. I am their friend, and I’m here when they need me.”

Ivanka Trump had nothing but love for her stepmother during a 2016 interview with People. In fact, the future First Daughter couldn’t stop gushing about the future First Lady, complementing Melania Trump on everything from her parental skills to her political nous.

“Melania is an unbelievable mother,” she first declared before defending her choice to take a step back during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. “And she made a decision I totally respect which is that she has a young son, he needs stability, he needs routine.” Ivanka went on to praise her stepmom for being such a day-to-day presence in her young son’s life and even cited her as a role model when it came to her own approach to motherhood. The businesswoman was equally effusive about Melania’s qualities as a Presidential wife, describing her as warm, smart, and charitable. 

However, rumors continue to persist that their relationship isn’t quite as cordial as purported. In 2020, for example, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a Melania confidante, argued that behind the scenes, there could be an increasingly bitter power struggle. The pair even have unflattering nicknames for each other, according to Mary Jordan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Art of Her Deal.” Ivanka apparently dubs her stepmom as “The Portrait,” referencing how Melania rarely puts her head above the parapet. In return, the latter reportedly refers to the former as “The Princess.” 

Unlike her half-siblings, Tiffany Trump hasn’t built up much of a reputation for causing trouble. So it’s perhaps little surprise to read reports she is apparently the favorite of Melania Trump’s four stepchildren. And a heartwarming family throwback photo from 2000 only adds further weight to the theory.

In the snap taken courtside at a tennis match, Melania can be seen cuddling a beaming Tiffany, then approximately six years old, while a glum Donald Trump looks to have his mind on the sporting action. It’s a rare public display of affection from the First Lady and one which, perhaps due to their closeness in ages, doesn’t appear to have ever been replicated with Ivanka Trump. And the feeling appears to be mutual. In 2018, Tiffany, who’s reportedly fast replacing Ivanka Trump as her father’s favorite, too, wished her stepmom a Happy Birthday on Instagram, also captioning (via the Daily Mail) a photo of the pair taken at a White House Easter Egg Roll alongside Donald with the words, “Love you.”

But the closeness between Melania and Tiffany, who spent most of her childhood estranged from Donald Trump, was called into question in 2025 when the former was a notable no-show at the latter’s baby shower. Indeed, the First Lady’s absence at the family event, which was hosted by half-sister Ivanka Trump, sent the tabloids into overdrive. However, an insider told People that Melania simply wanted to spend that weekend with her son. 

It helps to have friends in high places, and big half-sisters, too. Yes, on the occasions when being the daughter of Donald Trump hasn’t quite been enough to get what she wants, Tiffany Trump has relied on the services of Ivanka Trump. Take the time she bagged an internship at Vogue magazine (and shared lunch with its editor Anna Wintour), for example, a position which was arranged entirely by the future First Daughter.

And in her book “The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life,” Ivanka remembered how she once came to the rescue when her younger half-sibling desperately sought her own father-funded credit card. “All she wanted, really, was a way to enjoy some of the privileges her friends got to enjoy, in the same way she would have enjoyed them if she’d lived under our father’s roof,” she wrote (via Vanity Fair), proving that the Trumps are a very different family from us mere civilians.

Luckily for Tiffany, Ivanka’s gift of the gab worked, and she was given the chance to splash daddy’s cash. “I didn’t tell her, of course, but I went to our father and suggested he think about surprising Tiffany with a credit card for Christmas, with a small monthly allowance on it,” a proud Ivanka recalled. “Sure enough, he did just that. Tiffany was thrilled and relieved. And so appreciative.”

Having procured everything from paternal credit cards to Vogue magazine internships for her, it’s perhaps little wonder that Tiffany Trump practically idolizes her older half-sibling. In fact, according to a Vanity Fair insider, back in 2016, she wanted to be a mini-Ivanka Trump.

“[Tiffany] is jumping into this whole process with both feet,” an anonymous friend of Donald Trump’s youngest daughter said, referring to how she’d started to accompany her big half-sis at various presidential campaign events. “She hasn’t polished it yet,” they added, while also complimenting Ivanka’s personality, brand, and Instagram consistency.

The source also claimed that Ivanka freely gives Tiffany guidance on everything from the opposite sex to the political spectrum, as well as valuable press tips such as “make sure when you sit down you cross your legs” and “this is the color that looks best on camera.” And the latter sure is listening. She once headed to Bloomingdale’s with her Secret Service detail in tow simply to pick up a recommended lipstick!

Ivanka Trump isn’t the only member of her family who likes dishing out advice. Melania Trump also fancies herself as something of a life guru. And as Vanessa Trump can apparently vouch for, her specialty appears to be dealing with the men of the dynasty.

According to an anonymous Us Weekly insider, Vanessa once asked Melania for some guidance toward the end of her marriage with Donald Trump Jr., and the First Lady reportedly informed her that resistance was futile. “Melania told her, ‘The Trump men are one and the same — vain and ­power-hungry,’” the source said. She also allegedly insisted that dishing out any kind of ultimatum would spell disaster, as the Trump men allegedly place power above everything else.

It’s not known whether this tough love had any effect on Vanessa’s thinking. But in 2018, she did file for divorce after 12 years of marriage amid rumors that Donald Jr. had been unfaithful. A press statement read (via NBC News), “We will always have tremendous respect for each other and our families. We have five beautiful children together and they remain our top priority. We ask for your privacy during this time.” Interestingly, Vanessa later started dating another high-profile name, Tiger Woods. 

One might expect that Ivanka Trump and Vanessa Trump’s friendship might have taken a bit of a hit following the latter’s divorce from Donald Trump Jr. in 2018. But according to reports, several years on, the pair are still firm friends.

And nowhere was that more apparent than in the Instagram comments section of a Tiger Woods post. In 2025, the golfer took to the photo-sharing platform site to confirm that he and Vanessa were now an item. “Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side!” he gushed (via Us Weekly). “We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.”

Eagle-eyed followers soon spotted that there was a notable name wishing them well. “So happy for you both,” Ivanka responded alongside two loved-up emojis. The First Daughter had previously served as bridesmaid at Vanessa’s wedding to Donald Jr. in 2005, and the pair were regularly pictured enjoying each other’s company at various high-profile events.

Proof of how sisterly the bond between Lara Trump and Ivanka Trump was came during the trials and tribulations of a fraud lawsuit. The latter, alongside her brothers Eric and Don Jr., had been taken to court by Attorney Letitia James to the tune of $250 million. And rumors started to surface that the First Daughter had fallen out with her fellow defendants when she decided to seek her own legal representation.

But Lara soon leapt to the defense of her sister-in-law by insisting that the move was entirely amicable. “I think people are trying to make that a bigger deal than it really is,” she told the Daily Mail at a rescue dogs charity event in New York. “It’s not common to have to go through all this stuff that my husband and his siblings go through.”

Lara went on to say that Ivanka simply developed a stronger connection with another attorney, but that everyone was still on the same page. “She [may have] said, ‘I’m going to have this person directly for me,’ but [the attorneys] all work as a team. I think that got lost in the story.”

There certainly didn’t appear to be any love lost between the first and third wives of Donald Trump. Take the feud that erupted in 2017 when Ivana Trump, who’d birthed three of the president’s kids (Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric), essentially claimed that no other woman, not even Melania Trump, would be able to compare.

“I have the direct number to White House, but I no [sic] really want to call him there because Melania is there,” Ivana told “Good Morning America” (via CNN) about her ongoing relationship with the man she was married to from 1977 until 1990. “I don’t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife. I’m first lady, OK?”

Unsurprisingly, Melania didn’t take this war of words lying down. A spokesperson for the actual First Lady, who reportedly used several dating tricks to get Donald interested in her, told the press (via BBC News), “There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately, only attention seeking and self-serving noise.” This was apparently one of the first times that two women married to the same president had argued in public.

But Melania Trump and Ivana Trump were practically best friends compared to the latter’s relationship with Marla Maples. In fact, while speaking to “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Donald Trump’s first wife pretty much confirmed she favored his third over his second, remarking (via Hola!), “One is a nobody, the other is First Lady.”

You can understand Ivana’s animosity. According to Trump legend, she first met Marla while she was on vacation in Aspen with the future POTUS. “This young blonde woman approached me out of the blue and said ‘I’m Marla and I love your husband. Do you?’” Ivana claimed (via the Irish Independent) in her memoir “Raising Trump.” “I said ‘Get lost. I love my husband.’ It was unladylike but I was in shock.”

Ivana went on to reveal this was the point at which she knew her marriage was over. She and Donald divorced in acrimonious circumstances in 1990. And three years later, her ex-husband walked down the aisle with the woman who’d confronted her on that infamous ski trip. And it’s fair to say that time didn’t mellow Ivana’s stance. Referring to Marla’s appearance on a certain prime-time dancing competition, she wrote, “The showgirl appeared on ‘DWTS’ when (because) her ex-husband was running for president! It was disrespectful to do the show. I never would have embarrassed Donald that way.” Furthermore, she also refused to accept the second Mrs. Trump’s apology for stealing her man.

There were three notable no-shows at Donald Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples: his three kids. Yes, Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka all decided against attending the ceremony, even releasing an official statement to the press to explain that they’d decided to stay with their mom, Ivana Trump, in Aspen instead.

Although the latter insisted in her memoir “Raising Trump” that she had nothing to do with her children’s absence, she continued to put the cat among the pigeons, claiming to The Atlantic that Ivanka wasn’t a fan of her first stepmother. “She likes her [Melania] fine, because she didn’t cause me to break up the marriage like the other one — I don’t even want to pronounce her name.”

Of course, Ivanka herself had already added fuel to the fire by publicly acknowledging that she didn’t have much of a connection with Marla. “She was out in California, and really my relationship is with Tiffany,” the First Daughter told People in 2017, referring to her half-sister. In contrast, Marla was positively gushing about Ivanka and her brothers while speaking on “Oprah: Where Are They Now”: “I had the chance to know them when they were young, and now, to see how well they’re doing just touches my heart,” she said (via Town & Country). “We watch ‘The Apprentice’ and I cry when I see the kids on it. I’m crazy; I’m that emotional person.”

Mary Trump has never been one to hold back when it comes to dishing the dirt on her family. Just ask Ivanka Trump, who found herself on the receiving end of her cousin’s criticism while she was promoting her latest exposé, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.”

Yes, as well as continually waging war against her uncle Donald Trump, Mary also gave the First Daughter both barrels, essentially telling The Washington Post in 2020 that she has no value. “She doesn’t do anything. She spouts bromides on social media, but either she tries to have an impact and fails or just isn’t interested in having an impact. I can’t think of one thing she’s done to show that she’s moderate or a moderating influence.”

And Mary continued her attack four years later when she theorized to MSNBC (via Yahoo! News) why her cousin hadn’t shown up to support Donald in his hush money trial. “Ivanka made the calculation a long time ago that it was not in her best interests to remain in any way associated with the rest of her family,” she said, going on to describe every relationship in the Trump clan as purely transactional.