Donald Trump’s personal and love life has repeatedly been in center stage of tabloids besides of his business and political life. From his three wedlock experiences to his current legal trials associated with hush-money payments, the private life of the current president has been instrumental in determining his public image.
Early Marriages and the Emergence of a Tabloid Reputation
Trump wedded his first wife, Ivana Trump, in 1977. The couple had three children Donald Jr, Ivanka, and Eric and trump also made Ivana an integral part of the Trump Organization. The marriage, however, fell apart in the early 1990s amidst Trump’s affair with model Marla Maples. Their divorce had made it to tabloids, with Ivana explaining the emotional impact it had on their children.
Soon after that Trump wed Maples in 1993, and they had their daughter Tiffany before divorcing in 1997. One year later, Trump encountered Slovenian model Melania Knauss, whom he married as his third wife in 2005 and welcomed his youngest son, Barron with.
Affairs, Allegations, and “Access Hollywood”
Trump’s marriage to Melania was soon put to the test by scandal. Only a few months after their wedding, the “Access Hollywood” tape emerged, in which Trump brags about groping women. At about the same time, adult actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal claimed affairs with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.
Dozens of women have since accused Trump of sexual assault or harassment, dating back to the 1970s. Some people, such as columnist E Jean Carroll, have sued him. Trump has uniformly dismissed all accusations, insisting they all are politically motivated.
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Hush-Money Scandal and Criminal Conviction
The Daniels affair came roaring back into the headlines in 2018 when it was learned that Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, brokered a $130,000 payment to silence her prior to the 2016 election. The payoff was at the center of a year’s long probe into Trump’s campaign and business operations.
In May 2024, a jury in Manhattan convicted Trump on all 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the hush-money scheme. The conviction was the first time a former US president was convicted of felony charges. Daniels testified at the trial, relating her 2006 meeting with Trump and how she had felt shame and fear afterward.
Even after his conviction, Trump insists he never had affairs with Daniels or McDougal and that the allegations are a politically motivated assault. But the controversy has sealed his reputation as a leader whose private life and legal troubles cannot be separated from his public persona.
