The Truth About Ivanka Trump And Chelsea Clinton's Friendship

Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump are close in age, have children around the same age and are both extremely close to their parents. Despite not being as friendly as of late (who could blame them?), they have a history of friendship. Whether they're both donning Vera Wang at their weddings, or helping their parents with their political campaigns, we're going to take a more detailed look at the current and former First Daughters' relationship.

It's hard to ignore all the similarities between the two women's childhoods. Both ladies grew up with affluent means, with Chelsea spending her adolescence in the White House and Ivanka at her dad's New York skyscraper, and both made surprising decisions that helped turn them into the self-reliant women they are today.

The girls are both fiercely independent—Chelsea turning down opportunities to attend Ivy League East Coast universities and instead jetting to Stanford, the Independent Journal Review reported. Ivanka "built an empire in the world of business" instead of partying, like you might expect from a socialite. Ivanka decided to spend two years at Georgetown University and then transferred to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania (via Vanity Fair).

Chelsea and Ivanka met through their husbands, who also have a lot in common. Marc Mezvinsky (Chelsea's husband) and Jared Kushner (Ivanka's husband) met and became friends while working in finance in Manhattan, The Sunday Express reported. They began taking their wives out on double dates and the two clicked immediately.

Mezvinsky works for a hedge fund and previously spent time as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, according to People. He's also the son of former Representative Edward Mezvinsky, who spent a few years in prison for fraud involving millions of dollars (he was released in 2008). Kushner is the son of real estate developer Charles Kushner. He's principal owner of Kushner Companies, which he's taken over since 2008 when his father got into legal trouble for tax evasion, illegal campaign donations and witness tampering and spent a year in prison, The Sun reported.

Both men are Jewish, and Ivanka converted to Judaism before marrying her husband. Chelsea, who was raised Methodist, "believes she can raise her children in multiple faiths," (via The Times of Israel).

Perhaps when Chelsea and Ivanka get together, they swap stories about their posh weddings. Both brides wore Vera Wang—Chelsea's 2010 gown was worth about $20,000 while Ivanka's probably set her back a whopping $50,000 in 2009 (via InStyle). Ivanka's dress was named the winning gown by AOL Entertainment when they compared the weddings, saying she "...stole the show with her immaculate detailing."

Both ladies spared no expense when it came to their nuptials. InStyle reported that Chelsea and Mezvinsky spent around $750,000 on catering from the St. Regis and Ivanka and Kushner chose a 13-layer cake designed by famed cake designer Sylvia Weinstock, whose cakes sometimes price close to to $70,000. Both weddings were star-studded as well, with the Trumps and Kushners celebrating with 500, including Natalie Portman and Russell Crowe, and the Clintons entertaining around 400, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Ted Danson and his wife.

With all the similarities, you have to wonder if they got together to compare notes when they were wedding planning.

Ivanka and Chelsea's relationship is about much more than politics.

Ivanka explained that both women are supportive of their parents but both have a mutual respect for each other. Chelsea echoed Ivanka's sentiment, saying (via People) "Friendship is always more important than politics. I learned that growing up, watching my parents be friends with people across the political spectrum in Arkansas."

Chelsea even compared Ivanka to her father in Vogue, saying, "She's always aware of everyone around her and ensuring that everyone is enjoying the moment. It's an awareness that in some ways reminds me of my dad, and his ability to increase the joy of the room."

Ivanka seemed to set the record straight on the ladies' thoughts on the 2016 Presidential election in an interview with Fox News. "We're not the candidates. We're the children of the candidates. We've stayed close to one another, maybe a little less publicly so, but she's a good friend. We support each other," (via Forward).

In a CNN town hall with her family, Ivanka admitted she hadn't spoken to Chelsea recently, saying "But you know, the last 10 months have been really a whole different level," (via Newsweek). Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump's parents' campaign was long and tough—Ivanka's father invoked former President Bill Clinton's sex scandals and Chelsea's mother called Trump a bigot and a bully.

A source allegedly told the The New York Post, "They basically have to put their friendship on pause because their parents are ripping each other to shreds. The hard part is that Chelsea and Ivanka were friends."

Despite calling a truce during the election, Chelsea spoke out at a Glamour Facebook Live event, challenging Ivanka's father about how he'd fight for equal pay and accessible child care.

"'It's not something that he has spoken about, there are no policies on any of those fronts that you just mentioned on his website — not last week, [and] not this week," Chelsea pointed out. "So I think the 'how' question is super-important in politics as it is in life,'" (via New York Magazine).

Ivanka and Chelsea have always spoken very highly of each other on social media and to the media itself — before, during, and after the election. Above all, their relationship has always been about mutual respect. Ivanka tweeted a quote from Chelsea in 2015 that read: "Life is not about what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you." Ivanka wrote after the quote, "Well said, @ChelseaClinton #wisewords #quote," (via Inside Edition).

When Chelsea appeared on The View in September 2016, she spoke about Ivanka and her friendship and said the two "were friends long before this election. Our friendship didn't start in politics; it certainly is not going to end because of politics. I have tremendous respect for Ivanka," (via Inside Edition).

Despite the outcome of the election, Chelsea has chosen to "go high" and defend Ivanka's youngest sibling, half brother Barron. She tweeted and posted to Facebook (via Entertainment Tonight), "Barron Trump deserves the chance every child does—to be a kid." She was speaking out in response to the bullying the littlest Trump received post-Inauguration, like Saturday Night Live writer Katie Rich's tweet that she was suspended for.

Chelsea did also end her tweet with: "Standing up for every kid also means opposing @POTUS politics that hurt kids."

As rocky as things seem to be post-election, Ivanka seems to be intent about resolidifying the relationship. She admitted to ABC News' Deborah Roberts (via People) "I haven't spoken about the specific challenges about this next chapter with her just yet but I intend to."

Maybe a play date for Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump's kids could be just the ticket to rekindling their friendship?