Vanessa Trump is divorcing the president’s eldest son because he ‘treats her like a second-class citizen’, sources have said in new explosive claims.
Donald Trump Jr’s wife and the mother of his five children is kept on a budget so tight that she has to ask her mom for help, according to Page Six.
‘He gives her very little help and has been keeping her on a tight budget,’ one friend told the site.
‘She doesn’t live a lavish life and can very rarely pick up a check at dinner.’
Vanessa Trump is divorcing Donald Trump Jr because he ‘treats her like a second-class citizen’, sources have said in new explosive claims
Donald Trump Jr’s wife and the mother of his five children is kept on a budget that is so tight she has to ask her mom for help, sources have told Page Six
Another source said Trump Jr was ‘never generous’ with money, often leaving Vanessa to ask her own mother to help pay ‘for her personal needs’.
Vanessa’s spokesperson has since denied the claims, calling them ‘simply not true’.
‘Don and Vanessa have tremendous respect for each other and always have,’ they said.
‘The notion that she has had to rely on her family for assistance is absolutely false and utterly ridiculous.’
Sources also told Page Six that Don Jr and Vanessa have had problems even before they wed in 2005, and that Trump’s presidency has only made things worse.
‘She was interviewing divorce lawyers before [Trump’s presidency],’ one source claimed.
Another source said Trump Jr was ‘never generous’ with money, often leaving Vanessa to ask her own mother to help pay ‘for her personal needs’
A friend also claimed that Vanessa had been interviewing divorce lawyers, but initially planned to wait until after Donald Trump’s term was over
‘No one thought he’d win. He won and she decided to stay until his term is over. But she just couldn’t stand it anymore.’
The friends also said Vanessa was angered that Don Jr made himself appear like ‘Mr Dad’ on social media by constantly posting pictures with their children.
‘She hates that he posts stuff online, pictures of their kids and how he paints the picture of him as a perfect father,’ they said. ‘It’s not the truth.’
‘When he’s not away on business trips, he’s hunting and fishing.’
Vanessa’s spokesperson said the couple’s recent decisions have ‘nothing to do with politics’ and added that it is ‘untrue’ that she is unhappy with Don Jr posting pictures of their children.
‘In fact, Vanessa is usually the first to “like” the posts that he shares. Don is a wonderful and very involved father,’ they said.
It was with his children that Don Jr found solace this weekend, decompressing at Mar-a-Lago after Vanessa filed for divorce last Thursday.
Don Jr appeared to be trying to distract himself from the end of his 12-year marriage by indulging in one of his favorite past times – sport fishing.
Donald Trump Jr was seen without his wedding ring on Friday in New York City, the day after Vanessa filed for divorce
Vanessa, 40, also did not wear her wedding ring as she headed out in New York City on Friday (above with daughter Chloe and son Spencer)
On Saturday, the 40-year-old posted a picture showing off a massive Cobia he reeled in while out on a fishing excursion with his eldest son Donnie.
Later, he posted videos of his kids rough-housing on Mar-a-Lago’s croquet lawn, and his youngest, Chloe, practicing her golf swing in a Mickey Mouse hat.
‘She’s going to be a great player one day…also as cute as it gets,’ the proud dad wrote.
While it will be some time before the divorce is finalized, Don Jr already appears to be getting in shape for singledom.
On Sunday, he posted a sweaty picture after a Cross Fit workout in the grueling Florida heat.
‘Brutal workout today in the #florida humidity,’ Don Jr captioned the photo.
Don Jr, the president’s oldest child, has been spending a lot of time with his children since he and his estranged wife Vanessa announced they were planning to divorce.
On Friday, the president’s son had been in Mar-a-Lago for the Republican Party of Palm Beach County’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Palm Beach, Florida.
Donald Trump Jr distracted himself from his divorce this weekend with a Cross Fit workout (left) and some sport fishing (right)
And over the weekend, Don Jr posted this clip of his youngest daughter Chloe practicing her golf swing
But before he went to mingle with the crowd, Don Jr, posted a selfie of himself with his daughter Kai.
He captioned it: ‘Date night with Kai. Great father daughter time. #weekend #fatherdaughter #daughter #datenight.’
That same day, he and Vanessa were both photographed without their wedding rings.
Don Jr was seen holding a folder full of papers and cigars as he ducked out of work early, leaving Trump Tower in Manhattan shortly after noon, sans band.
The mother-of-five, 40, was also sans ring as she was spotted heading off on the school run with her two youngest children Chloe and Spencer.
Vanessa and the kids attempted to sneak out the back entrance of their Manhattan apartment building around 8am on Friday, with three Secret Service agents closely flanking the family members.
Meanwhile, court papers reveal that Vanessa has hired herself a criminal defense lawyer to handle her split from Don Jr.
David Feureisen of the firm Bartels & Feureisen will be handling the split for Vanessa, who opted for a lawyer based in White Plains, which is close to the family’s residence upstate.
Donald Trump Jr posted this photo of himself out shark fishing with his nine-year-old son Donald John III on Saturday, the day after attending a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago
There is little else in the filing at this time, and the lawyer for Don Jr is not revealed in the one document that has been submitted thus far that can be viewed on the court docket.
Don Jr acknowledged his split from wife Vanessa for the first time on Thursday evening in an Instagram post.
‘No matter what is going on bedtime cuddling with the smurf puts a Yuge smile on my face. #bedtime#daddysgirl #cuddle,’ wrote Don Jr.
He included that remark alongside a photo of himself lying in bed with his daughter Chloe, the youngest of his five children.
Just a few hours earlier, a source told DailyMail.com that Vanessa had filed divorce papers in Manhattan Supreme Court after 12 years of marriage.
That source added that Vanessa listed the divorce as uncontested, meaning that she is not asking for full custody of the children at this time and that Donald Jr does not object to the filing.
‘After 12 years of marriage, we have decided to go our separate ways,’ the pair said in a joint statement.
Don Jr, posted a selfie of himself with his daughter Kai. He captioned it: ‘Date night with Kai. Great father daughter time. #weekend #fatherdaughter #daughter #datenight’
‘We will always have tremendous respect for each other and our families. We have five beautiful children together and they remain our top priority. We ask for your privacy during this time.’
Page Six reported shortly before the pair filed for divorce that Don Jr’s behavior on social media had caused problems in his relationship with Vanessa.
Recently, Don Jr liked tweets which made controversial and false statements about the victims of the Parkland shooting, including one that suggested there was a link between anti-depressants and the murderers responsible for mass casualty attacks.
He also liked a tweet that said 17-year-old David Hogg, one of the young students who is leading the call for gun reform, was just ‘running cover’ for his father, a former FBI agent.
Vanessa responded to that report by liking a number of tweets posted by her estranged husband and other members of his family.
This will be the first time that a child of the president has entered into divorce proceedings while their father held office.
Some are also now wondering if Vanessa could be called to testify against her estranged husband should he be indicted in the Russia probe.
‘In theory, Vanessa could talk about what Donald Trump Jr. knew about the Russia investigation if spousal privilege doesn’t apply, but that would take the divorce into a dark place,’ said Joshua Forman, a celebrity divorce attorney at Partner at Chemtob, Moss & Forman.
Trump, Jr. waves to guests before the start of the dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach Friday
‘However, she may have signed a prenuptial agreement with a confidentiality clause and would thus be precluded from speaking during or after marriage.’
He went on to explain: ‘If there isn’t a confidentiality clause and there isn’t a prenup in place, then once the divorce is complete, she could if allowable by the law in the jurisdiction she is called to testify in be compelled to testify.’
Vanessa and Don Jr have been spotted together less and less in recent months, and spent almost no time with one another over the holidays at Mar-a-Lago.
Don Jr posted a number of videos to social media during the two weeks that the pair were in Palm Beach which showed him with the couple’s children but never Vanessa.
Vanessa was also absent from one of the family dinners and did not attend the annual New Year’s Eve gala, with Don Jr. instead taking his son Donnie.
It was also his birthday that night.
The couple had been introduced multiple times before going on their first date, with President Trump responsible for two of those introductions.
Vanessa said in a 2006 interview that he twice introduced her to his son at a fashion show in 2003, and she finally agreed to a date when they met a third time at a mutual friend’s party.
Vanessa said that she referred to Donald Jr as ‘the one with retarded dad’ at the time.
Don Jr proposed to Vanessa, who was a model and actress at the time, with a $100,000 engagement ring back in 2004.
Vanessa Trump is seen outside her Manhattan apartment building on Thursday before filing divorce papers in a Manhattan court
The family was last seen together in February when they all celebrated Don III’s birthday in Palm Beach (above)
The proposal was captured by the multiple photographers alerted to the fact that Don Jr would be proposing in front of the same jewelry store from which he obtained the ring for a heavily discounted price.
They were married at Mar-a-Lago in November 2005, though those plans were almost derailed due to Hurricane Wilma, which forced the couple to move the wedding from the club’s lawn to a more sheltered space by the pool due to the damage done by high winds.
Those nuptials took a backseat in the press however to the fact that the wedding marked one of the rare occasions when Donald and his new wife Melania came face-to-face with his ex Ivana.
Prior to marrying Don Jr, Vanessa had been linked to Leonardo DiCaprio and had a small role in the film Something’s Gotta Give.
Vanessa was very much in the spotlight prior to the couple’s wedding, but once the couple began to have children shifted her focus to raising their sons and daughters.
She gave birth to all five of the couple’s children in a span of just seven years.