Marla Maples was the second wife of Donald Trump and her relationship with the former president was under the media microscope. Initially, their affair was hush-hush until it became public and she was labeled a “mistress” who broke a happy family. But in a throwback interview from the ’90s, she defended herself saying, “I am not the reason” for their marital problems.
In March 1990 Donald Trump’s affair with Marla Maples was covered by all the tabloids, mainly because Trump was using fake names to call the tabloids and feed information on himself to make sure he stayed in the news. pic.twitter.com/6VNCPF0Jrp
— TheRealThelmaJohnson (@TheRealThelmaJ1) August 4, 2024
The Washington Post reported her interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s PrimeTime Live dealing with questions about her infamous romantic rendezvous with Trump. The complicated nature of their affair caused tensions between the then-couple following which the former real-estate mogul ended things with Maples. However, regardless, she was still smitten by him. Sawyer asked, “You still love him?” Maples replied, “You know, I, I can’t lie about it. Oh, I do. I do love him.” The host then asked her about the controversial statement attributed to her about having ‘the best sex’ with Trump. But she dodged it, including the subsequent question regarding her marriage to the billionaire, saying, “I’m taking my life day by day. … I mean, who knows what life is going to bring in the future?” Did Trump ever discuss marriage with Maples? Sawyer questioned. “No,” she replied,” adding, “He’s, he’s a friend. You know? He’s — he has a family, and that’s number one to him, I know.”
Since #IvanaTrump passed away “unexpectedly” yesterday… know who’s looking nervously over her shoulder now? #MarlaMaples . pic.twitter.com/Q7zgPSn9S5
— Paul Fox (@PaulFox50854324) July 15, 2022
But, throughout the early days of their relationship, she was viewed as a homewrecker. Maples, who originally met Trump in 1987, discussed the public criticism on ABC News podcast Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris . “I never considered myself a mistress. I mean, that’s the truth.” But since he was still married to his first wife Ivana and had three children, the future was full of roadblocks.
This is Marla maples, praying that “God be in this”…meaning her affair with a married man. Why am I posting this? Not in self righteous indignation nor judgement. I am simply stunned every time I see people’s self made gods…..that they BELIEVE is the true God. Maples grew up in… pic.twitter.com/ikPqc17Ti6
— Stephany (@TrustHisSon) November 27, 2024
However, she recalled Trump reassuring her parents, “‘I’m going to marry your daughter one day.’ This, of course, wasn’t a piece of cake. So Maples wanted God to intervene in her affairs, expecting things to go the way it was meant to be, “Every step of the way, I was praying, ‘God, please be in this. Please be in this. I do not want to be part of breaking anything up that has a chance,'” referring to breaking up Trump’s family with Ivana.
But, the press back then, continued to publish horrifying things about Maples which Trump “hated” following which she had go into hiding. In the 90s interview, she said that Trump had “a lot of sympathy for how we’ve been besieged by this. He’s very sorry. … He’s helped me to keep my head up high, you know.” However, she persistently refused to accept her role as a homewrecker, citing, “They’ve had a long marriage and, as Donald has said himself, ‘People just grow apart.”
After months of media’s relentless pursuit and Maples’ temporary exile from the public eye, she finally tied the knot with Trump in December 1993. However, unfortunately, the marriage wasn’t meant to last as the former couple ended things in June 1999. They had one daughter Tiffany Trump and today, decades after their split, Maples continued to support Trump in his political endeavors.
