Ivana Trump, the first wife of former US president Donald Trump, died after falling down stairs at her home in New York City, suffering “blunt impact injuries” to her torso.

New York City Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled the 73-year-old’s death as accidental.

Ivana was found at the bottom of the staircase in her apartment next to a spilled cup of coffee, according to reports in some US media outlets.

The medical examiner’s brief report did not specify when the accident took place.

On Thursday, the Trump family paid tribute to a “wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life”.

A Czech-born ski racer and businesswoman, Ivana Trump was born Ivana Zelnickova in 1949. She married Donald Trump, her second husband, in 1977 and they had three children together – Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric.

After their split, she went on to become an entrepreneur in her own right, starting a fashion line and writing various books.

Ivana Trump: Former US president’s first wife and mother to three of his children dies aged 73

She married and divorced her third and fourth husbands and even made a movie cameo as America’s most famous ex-wife in The First Wives Club where she had the immortal line “don’t get mad – get everything!”

Mr Trump announced his former wife’s death on his social media platform Truth Social after being banned indefinitely from Twitter.

Her daughter Ivanka Trump said she was “heartbroken”.

Paying tribute on Twitter, she said: “Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She lived life to the fullest – never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance.

“I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always.”

Mr Trump said of his ex-wife: “Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana.”

Partners in love and business – with her playing roles such as manager of one of his Atlantic City casinos – Ivana and Donald Trump were a New York power couple before their public and messy divorce in 1992, after Mr Trump had met his next wife, Marla Maples.

During the split, Ivana Trump accused him of rape in a sworn statement in the early 1990s. She later said she did not mean it literally, but rather that she felt violated.

And in recent years she had been on good terms with her former husband. Ivana told the New York Post in 2016 she was both a supporter and adviser to the former president.

She said she once advised him to “be more calm”. But she added: “Donald cannot be calm. He’s very outspoken. He just says it as it is.”

‘I’m first lady’

In 2017, while promoting a book, she told TV show Good Morning America she spoke to the then-president about every two weeks and had his direct White House number, but did not want to call too frequently “because Melania is there and I don’t want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that because I’m basically first Trump wife, OK?” she said with a laugh.

“I’m first lady, OK?”

Melania Trump’s spokesperson at the time responded, saying there was “clearly no substance to this statement from an ex, this is unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise”.

The Trump tribute

The Trump family released a statement, calling her “an incredible woman – a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend”.

The statement went on to say: “Ivana Trump was a survivor. She fled from communism and embraced this country.

“She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination. She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and ten grandchildren.”

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