Ivana Trump, Donald Trump's ex-wife, dies at 73

STORY: Ivana Trump, first wife of former President Donald Trump and the mother of his three oldest children – and who helped build his real estate empire - has died, Donald Trump said on Thursday.

In a post on his social media platform Trump said, "I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City."

The couple married in 1977 and divorced in 1992. Their three children Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, were part of Trump’s “Apprentice” reality show, with Ivanka later working in the Trump administration.

Ivana Trump grew up under Communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia, and (quote) “taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination,” the family said in a statement.

Neither the Trump family nor the former president mentioned the cause of her death.

A former model who once trained for the Czechoslovakian junior national ski team, Ivana played a role in building the Trump media image in the 1980s, when they were one of New York City's most prominent power couples.

She worked alongside her husband in developing Trump Tower, his signature building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and other high-profile projects such as the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to the New York Times.

The couple’s divorce, which came after Trump’s highly publicized affair with Marla Maples, whom he later married, was fodder for the New York tabloids.

The family said Ivana, who was 73, is survived by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren.