Marla Maples Got Less Than You Think In Her Divorce From Donald Trump

The 1990s were complicated years for Donald Trump's finances. After enjoying success and popularity in the 1980s as the president of The Trump Organization and as the co-author of the best-selling "The Art of the Deal," Trump rang in the new decade faced with a millionaire divorce and the failing of some of his casinos, as The New York Times reported. It wouldn't get better; just five years after his divorce from Ivana Trump was finalized in 1992, Trump saw the collapse of his second marriage, this time to model Marla Maples.

Ivana famously fought Trump over their prenuptial agreement, The New York Times reported in 1991. In court, Ivana argued that, as the CEO of the Atlantic City casino Trump's Castle, she helped build Trump's fortune, which was estimated at $5 billion at the time, the report detailed. In addition, Ivana knew Trump was in the red and feared she would become one of his creditors in the event he filed for bankruptcy. But Trump prevailed and Ivana ended up getting pretty much what had been established in the prenup, which had been revised in December 1987 — $14 million, a mansion and an apartment, in addition to $650,000 yearly to help provide for their three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.

It wouldn't be the only time a wife would take Trump to court. In 1997, Maples also contested the terms of the prenup she signed before marrying Trump in 1993 and got the short end of the stick.

The marriage between Donald Trump and Marla Maples lasted four years, with the first filing for divorce in 1997, per the Associated Press. However, the divorce wouldn't be final until 1999 because Maples argued their prenuptial agreement was "unfair." After fighting Trump for two years, Maples let it go. According to a 2019 People report, Maples received just $1 million and another $1 million for a house. The agreement also ensured Trump would provide for their daughter Tiffany until she came of age. 

Maples said she had trusted Trump when he told her the document was just a formality and, thus, barely read any word in it before signing it. Still, Maples disliked the idea from the beginning. "This was the big battle all along," she told Vanity Fair. But the eve of their wedding day arrived and Trump wouldn't budge. "Marla was under duress. Donald's position was: without the prenup he wasn't going to get married," a source said. Under 24 hours before the ceremony, she signed the agreement deemed "draconian" by Vanity Fair.

Maples had also given birth to Tiffany just two months before marrying Trump in December 1993. "I can't think of greater coercion than a woman having a baby in her belly and a man saying to her, 'I won't marry you unless you sign.' What's she supposed to do? If he handed her a laundry ticket, she'd probably sign it," a celebrity divorce attorney told People.

Even though her divorce from Donald Trump was bitter, Marla Maples harbors no ill feelings toward her ex-husband. In an interview with the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2013, Maples said that the relationship "was a very big important part of my life," adding that "I still love Donald. I love Eric and Ivanka and Donnie." But Maples has also opened up about the difficulties of co-parenting with Trump. In a 2016 interview with People, Maples said Trump wasn't exactly an involved parent. 

After their divorce was finalized, Maples took Tiffany and moved to California, which she admitted was a decision she made to raise her daughter away from the spotlight. "Her daddy is a good provider with education and such, but as far as time, it was just me. Her father wasn't able to be there with day-to-day skills as a parent. He loves his kids. There's no doubt. But everything was a bit of a negotiation," she told the outlet. According to The New York Times, Tiffany saw her father mainly on spring breaks, which she spent at Mar-a-Lago, though Trump sometimes flew out to see her when she won awards.

Speaking with Access Hollywood in 2016, Maples denied Trump had paid her to keep her from talking publicly about their marriage. "Absolutely not true! He's the father of my child. I do not want to ever speak negative about him. But do we agree on everything? Absolutely not," she said.