Ivana Trump, the Czech-American businesswoman and former wife of Donald Trump, is being remembered on the anniversary of her untimely death. Her close friend, Nikki Haskell, recently spoke to PEOPLE about Ivana’s concerns during the pandemic and suggested that her passing could have been prevented.
Haskell, who had a deep bond with Ivana, expressed her profound sadness over the loss and emphasized that she believes her friend’s death was avoidable. Recalling their last conversation, Haskell revealed that she had urged Ivana to have someone live with her due to safety concerns. Haskell specifically mentioned the risk of falling down the stairs, an unfortunate accident that ultimately claimed Ivana’s life. However, Ivana had adamantly opposed the idea of having someone stay with her, insisting on her desire for solitude.
I’m totally heartbroken over it,” Haskell, 82, tells PEOPLE of her dear friend. “I think about it all the time. It was so unnecessary for her to die.
told her it was extremely important to get someone to live in the house with her,” Haskell recalls. “I said, ‘God forbid you fall down those stairs.” According to Haskell, Trump was adamantly opposed to the idea.
“She didn’t want anyone there, she didn’t think she needed security. She just wanted to be left alone,” Haskell says. “So when someone called to tell me she’d died, I immediately asked, ‘Did she fall down the stairs?’ I was very angry about it for a long time. This shouldn’t have happened.”
When Haskell received the news of Ivana’s passing, her immediate thought was if the fall down the stairs had caused it. For a long time afterward, Haskell carried a sense of anger, feeling that the tragedy could have been prevented.
Haskell’s friendship with Ivana began in the late 1970s when she started dating Donald Trump. The two women shared many adventures together, traveling the world and enjoying life to the fullest. Haskell described Ivana as an electrifying and fun-loving person who had a remarkable zest for life. She highlighted Ivana’s athletic prowess as a former champion skier and praised her for being a great mother.
The impact of the COVID-19 lockdown had a significant effect on Ivana, according to Haskell. Ivana, who barely left her Manhattan townhouse during the last two years of her life, was deeply concerned about contracting the virus. Haskell observed that many people, including Ivana, experienced a demoralizing decline in their social lives, choosing to isolate themselves and forgo normal activities. The toll of the pandemic’s restrictions weighed heavily on Ivana and saddened Haskell.
Prior to the pandemic and her tragic passing at the age of 73, Ivana had been looking forward to retirement and spending time in her cherished St. Tropez. Haskell had suggested that Ivana consider writing another book, but Ivana expressed her desire to simply enjoy her life after having worked since the age of three.
