The Ex-Husband Ivana Trump Sued For Breaching Their Prenup

Ivana Trump once declared, "Ladies, you have to be strong and independent. And remember... don't get mad, get everything," during a cameo in the 1996 comedy, "The First Wives Club," while sporting her signature platinum blonde Bridget Bardot adjacent bouffant and a mile-wide grin. And that she did! The late Ivana was perhaps best known for being the first wife of former president Donald J. Trump, and the apparent winner takes a lot in their subsequent high-stakes divorce. It's reported that following the demise of their affluent union, Ivana walked away with a whopping $14 million, a palatial home in Greenwich, Connecticut, a residence in the Trump Plaza, and even a timeshare of sorts at the Mar-a-Lago resort in sunny Florida. 

Alas, her third divorce from a wealthy Italian man by the name of Riccardo Mazzucchelli also proved to be messy — especially after she opted to sue him for allegedly speaking out about their high-profile divorce in public amid an iron-clad confidentiality clause. RUH-ROH.

”We had a confidentiality clause,” Ivana Trump told the New York Times in October 1997 about her divorce from her third husband, Riccardo Mazzucchelli, ”but basically what was mine is mine and what was his is his.” 

It would appear, however, that Mazzucchelli didn't always adhere to the strict confidentiality agreement, or at least not as far as Trump was concerned — and it almost cost him $15 million. "We filed a lawsuit for a permanent injunction to prevent him from further violating the confidentiality clause of their pre-nuptial agreement and to recover damages resulting from the breach, which threatens to injure her ongoing business ventures," Trump's formidable divorce attorney said in July of the same year. 

The story goes that Trump became very angry when the National Enquirer quoted Mazzucchelli saying, "It's over!" In true fashion, the mogul immediately responded, "Riccardo's quote to the National Enquirer that 'I dumped Ivana' is untrue!" she vehemently refuted. 

Alas, things went from bad to worse when Riccardo Mazzucchelli countersued Ivana Trump and her second ex-husband, Donald J. Trump, for defamation. "Proceedings were brought following defamatory articles in the US and worldwide press published over the last three weeks," a spokeswoman for Mazzucchelli's attorney's office said in a statement obtained by The Independent. It's reported that the articles in question originated from the National Enquirer and People.

"I've been crucified by the press," Mazzucchelli later told People. And as for The Donald? "He's done nothing but knife me in the back. Maybe he's jealous," he speculated. "From what I read, I'm painted as a gigolo. But she can have it all, with my compliments. It's my parting gift to her," he declared. 

It should be noted, however, that both lawsuits were later settled out of court. Mazzucchelli died in 2017 at the age of 74. Then, on July 14, 2022, Ivana also died from an apparent fall at her beloved Upper East Side home in Manhattan.