Donald Trump is getting divorced.
No, not that Donald Trump.
The junior Donald Trump has been served divorce papers by Vanessa Trump, his wife of 12 years.
Following pretty strong chatter that this announcement was imminent, Donald Jr. and Vanessa made their decision final on Thursday evening via the following joint statement:
“After 12 years of marriage, we have decided to go our separate ways. 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.”
The New York Post, which was the first major outlet to report this story, confirms that Vanessa filed her legal papers in Manhattan Supreme Court.
She asked for an “uncontested proceeding.”
Donald Jr. and Vanessa are both 40 years old.
They started dating shortly after meeting a fashion show in The Big Apple in 2003, having been introduced by the current President of the United States.
The couple then got married at his Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, in November 2005.
They are the parents of five kids: Kai, 10, Donald III, 9, Tristan, 6, Spencer, 5, and Chloe, 3.
While detailing the specifics of the divorce, most newspapers and websites have also quoted sources who say this split is not very surprising.
I heard for a while they have been living separate lives,” an insider tells People Magazine, for example, adding:
“Even before all this Trump presidency stuff started they weren’t good and their marriage was strained.”
And then there’s this from Us Weekly:
“His relationship with Vanessa started getting rocky two years ago, when his dad started to campaign.
“Vanessa is very close to her family and very private and does not like all this attention on her family. They’ve been unhappy for a while.”
A frightening incident from last month certainly didn’t help matters, either.
Vanessa was hospitalized a few weeks ago after the family received a suspicious letter containing a white, powdery substance that police later found to be nontoxic.
Trump Jr. confirmed to the press afterward that his wife was “unharmed,” but the situation was understandably unsettling for all involved.
“Thankful that Vanessa & my children are safe and unharmed after the incredibly scary situation that occurred this morning,” President Trump’s oldest son Tweeted at the time, concluding:
“Truly disgusting that certain individuals choose to express their opposing views with such disturbing behavior.”
We don’t agree with a lot this family says – but we agree with this last statement.
The Daily Mail wrote last month that the pair didn’t spend Valentine’s Day together, opting instead to treat their children to separate dinners…
… and starting a round of Internet rumors that have now been made into a reality.
Trump Jr. meanwhile, has been at the center of a separate firestorm for months after it was revealed last year that he took a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a Russian attorney promising dirt on his father’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
The shady businessman even admitted shortly after this information came out that he attended the meeting specifically because he was promised said dirt.
And while Donald continues to run the Trump Organization, People has this to say about his life at the moment:
“Don can’t do any deals, because he’ll be overly scrutinized. He just goes to work every day and is miserable.”
