Marla Maples: 'Never Considered Myself the Mistress' of Donald Trump and 'God is in All Things' Including Their Relationship

12_19_18_MaplesMistress
Model Marla Maples poses for photographs during The Old Bags Lupus Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel November 5, 2003, in Beverly Hills, California. Maples said she never considered herself Donald Trump's mistress. Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

President Donald Trump's second wife Marla Maples said Wednesday she never considered herself "the mistress" after Trump cheated on his first wife, Ivana Trump, with her.

The future president divorced Ivana Trump and married Maples in 1993, but the two separated after four years and divorced in 1999.

"I never considered myself the mistress," Maples said in ABC News' podcast "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris." "I mean, that's the truth."

Maples, an actress and television personality, suggested that God had a hand in the relationship she and Donald Trump had.

"I think God is in all things," she said. "Do I wish more than anything that we could have had this relationship after his other divorce papers were signed? Absolutely. That's what I mean with all my heart."

Maples elaborated: "When Donald and I came together I really felt that—I do believe there was divinity in it."

She described it as "two people that came together that truly loved each other in a period of time" and said she "wanted him to see how loved he could be for his soul, not for his money."

Maples, who was brought up as a Southern Baptist and regularly goes to church, said Donald Trump would accompany her to church and that it meant a lot to her.

"It was really the biggest part of my life, wasn't the biggest part of his, I suppose," she said. "You know, he's a man on a mission and always has been."

Maples—who had a daughter with Donald Trump, Tiffany—has not commented much on her ex-husband.

"I believe silence was really important for a while," she explained. "To allow people to know that I'm not out there trying to get publicity because my ex-husband is president."

Her name is almost synonymous with President Trump. On this week's #JourneysOfFaith, Marla Maples talks about the role that FAITH played in her marriage to Trump, and why she never considered herself the mistress.

LISTEN NOW: https://t.co/iIPA17hRPF https://t.co/Bq1HYMeysC pic.twitter.com/GQhlwXxfon

— Paula Faris (@paulafaris) December 19, 2018

Maples did not have nice things to say about Donald Trump while they were separated. She told the Daily Telegraph that he was "ego-driven" and "obsessive," that they were never good together and the marriage was "built on an illusion."

"Donald was never the man I wanted to marry," she said at the time. "He and his world were alien to me. I'm so happy to be away from Donald, and I'm just trying to move as far away as I can." Maples' spokeswoman then claimed her comments had been taken "out of context."

Maples in a sit-down interview with NBC's Today show on Tuesday offered a more favorable account of her time with Donald Trump. She said she "absolutely" thought he would become president and it was "something we thought about doing in the '90s." She also did not talk bad about his controversial rhetoric.

"I just think life is about being ready for anything, you know, and where are you going to find the positive in all things, and I choose not to judge anybody else," Maples said.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


 A Los Angeles native, Jessica Kwong grew up speaking Spanish, Cantonese and English, in that order. Her journalism career started ... Read more

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