Did any of Donald Trump's marriages end in divorce or annulment and what were the reasons?

1. The simple facts: three marriages, two divorces

Public timelines agree that Trump married Ivana Zelníčková (Ivana) first, then Marla Maples, and finally Melania Knauss (Melania); he divorced Ivana and Maples but remains married to Melania in the reporting set ^{[1] [5] [2]}. The Miller Center succinctly notes that Trump “has been married three times and divorced twice,” making him the first U.S. president with multiple divorces ^[1].

2. Why the Ivana marriage ended: an affair, a tabloid scandal

Multiple profiles place the pivotal moment for Trump and Ivana’s marriage in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Trump’s affair with Marla Maples became public. The Miller Center states Ivana and Trump divorced “in the wake of revelations” that Trump had an extramarital relationship with Maples — a story carried widely in New York tabloids ^[1]. People’s reporting adds detail about a confrontation in Aspen and Ivana filing for divorce in March 1990, with intense media coverage following ^[3].

3. The Maples marriage: incompatibility and parenting differences

Reporting on Trump’s second marriage to Marla Maples frames its collapse as less about a single scandal and more about long‑term incompatibility and differing views on life and child‑rearing. People and other outlets cite Maples saying she and Trump “had different views on life and how they should raise their child,” and note their separation in 1997 with divorce finalized in 1999 ^{[4] [2]}. The Miller Center timeline likewise records their separation and eventual divorce ^[1].

4. Timing and legal finalities: dates and delays matter

The dates across outlets show gaps between separation, filing, and final judgment: Ivana filed in 1990 with divorce usually reported as finalized in 1992; Maples and Trump separated in 1997 and did not finalize divorce until 1999 ^{[3] [1] [2]}. Those gaps reflect how high‑profile splits can drag through negotiations and publicity, which multiple sources document ^[2].

5. What sources emphasize — and what they don’t

The Miller Center, People, The Knot and other sites consistently emphasize the affair and tabloid exposure in the Ivana split and cite incompatibility and parenting as reasons for the Maples divorce ^{[1] [3] [4] [6]}. Sources here do not provide exhaustive legal records, private correspondence, or the full negotiation details of settlements and prenuptial agreements; legal‑detail articles (e.g., law‑firm pages) discuss prenups in general but do not present primary divorce decrees in these sources ^{[7] [8]}. Available sources do not mention any annulments in Trump’s marital history (not found in current reporting).

6. Alternative perspectives and potential biases

Tabloid and popular outlets focus on sensational elements (affair, Aspen confrontation, celebrity spectacle) while legal‑oriented sources frame marital endings in terms of prenups, settlements and timelines ^{[9] [7] [8]}. Tabloid coverage can amplify personal conflict; law‑firm commentary can have an incentive to highlight prenups and legal strategy. Readers should note the differing agendas: human‑interest outlets amplify drama, and legal sites may present hypotheticals about property and prenups rather than factual new revelations about these divorces ^{[9] [7]}.

7. Bottom line and where reporting remains thin

On the central question: yes — two of Donald Trump’s marriages ended in divorce, generally attributed to an extramarital affair in the first instance and to incompatibility/differing priorities in the second ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Sources do not discuss annulments and do not provide full court dockets or confidential settlement documents in these summaries, so finer legal or private motives beyond what interviewees and public timelines have said remain outside the available reporting (not found in current reporting).