Marla Maples Style Totally Transformed After Her Divorce From Trump

Marla Maples spent the majority of her 20s in a relationship with Donald Trump. As a former model, she has always been fashionable and is even among the few exes who have never fallen for outdated trends the Trump family women won't ever give up. When the pair first stepped out together, confirming that Maples was in fact the secret girlfriend that Trump had been hiding throughout his marriage with Ivana Trump, she was dressed in typical '90s fashion. She was regularly spotted wearing straight-leg jeans, oversized shirts, and vintage belts. Her trendy style was topped off by her voluminous hair. But that all changed when she married the businessman in 1993.

Shortly after the pair welcomed their daughter Tiffany Trump (who is rarely caught without makeup these days), Maples was often clad in glamorous dresses. It felt less like her personal style and more like an effort to keep up with Trump's ever-growing ego and public image. Before long, she had ditched her chic '90s style for tight updos, stilettos, and slip dresses instead.

When she and Trump separated in 1997, Maples began raising her daughter singlehandedly, taking on a primary parenting role on the other side of the country. Over the next few years, Maples returned to her fashionable roots, slowly moving away from her lavish closet and gradually starting to experiment with statement accessories again. More than a decade later, she returned to entrepreneurship, building her own wellness brand. At this stage in her life, and as an experienced public speaker, Maples looked like the epitome of professionalism, clad in trousers, blazers, and shirts. It took a few years for her to find her sartorial feet, but it was worth the wait.

Marla Maples traded her jeans for a $2 million tiara on her wedding day — quite the contrast to her "smart casual" '90s getup. Throughout her marriage to Donald Trump, Maples phased out her signature back-combed hair and opted for an array of updos instead. She looked formal, glamorous, and sexy. At red-carpet events, she appeared in satin gowns that clung to her body. Maples also slowly stepped away from popular trends like statement jewelry, trading her chunky earrings for sophisticated pearls and diamantes instead.

Maples' transition was no surprise, with Trump notorious for his objectification of women, most notably when he told Esquire in 1991, "You know, it doesn't really matter what [the media] writes as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of a–." His new wife had become everything the future POTUS expected a woman to be, and she didn't like it. Despite showcasing her bright smile on many occasions, Maples was decked in ultra-glam clothes that she ditched as soon as the pair separated in 1997.

"I felt that's what the job called for," she revealed in a 2016 interview with People, noting that she felt uncomfortable being surrounded by such glamour. "Putting on gowns and going out hosting events and having Harry Winston put jewelry on my hands was always uncomfortable for me — that was me playing a role." When their divorce was finalized in 1999, Maples was finally free of that environment and could focus on raising their daughter.

Marla Maples made it clear that she was never with Donald Trump for his fortune, and the same goes for his fashion sense. After their divorce was finalized, the world watched Maples regain her identity by making fashion statements that didn't fit with his former expectations of her. With that breakup glow, Maples rocked the early 2000s with what seemed to be her new favorite fashion accessory: scarves. On many occasions, the former Trump wife topped off her "Friends"-esque outfits with knitted scarves. She had started to straighten her long hair, wearing it down and styled with Birkin bangs — one of the 30 haircuts that are super flattering for women in their 40s.

Maples looked refreshed after her divorce and had clearly reestablished her true sense of self. "I have my own thoughts, and my own views, and it's time now to express them," she told Access Hollywood in 2016. Scarves were a popular off-duty fashion trend for models in the '90s and the accessory was often used on bags and worn as hair pieces. Along with her layered hair, like many other women experimenting with brighter colors in the early 2000s, Maples was clearly inspired by the outfits donned by the iconic Rachel Green. Stepping into single life, she started to wear color-block turtlenecks and colourful tops, along with statement belts and oversized sunglasses. She was spotted in vibrant shades of blues and wore strappy camis that featured yellow accents and embroidery.

In 2017, Marla Maples returned to the public eye accompanied by her now-adult daughter Tiffany Trump. Maples made headlines when she turned up at the Taoray Wang show at New York Fashion Week wearing an off-the-shoulder gray dress. The former Trump wife had returned to her "smart-casual" style, and she looked great. At a different show, Maples cemented her fashionable traits when she posed in a velour black pantsuit and a pair of statement sunglasses. Not only did she look powerful suited up, but she looked happy, too. The textured look showed that she was still open to experimenting with her wardrobe — and she did it well.

Having earned the title of Miss Hawaiian Tropic in 1985, it's safe to say Maples knows a thing or two about the modeling industry. In 2019, she proved that she couldn't stop revisiting her fashion origins, even if it was from the sidelines. On social media, despite having contrasting opinions years earlier, Maples expressed her newfound love for getting dressed up. In a picture posted to Instagram, she posed in a white ruffled gown and red lipstick. "Thank you to everyone who helped turn up the glamour in this tomboy gal," she wrote in the caption, noting that she was in awe of the designers. Fans were quick to comment on her look, with one person writing, "He gave you up for Melania? His loss."

In 2019, Marla Maples' wardrobe became more about self-expression than aesthetics. More than a decade after her divorce, she showed that she was furthering her role in public life and started to wear corporate-coded pieces. One of the best examples of this was at a United Nations event in September, when Maples appeared in a slick black suit with a white shirt underneath. The change in formality also marked Maples' legitimate return to her passion: educating others on fitness and mindfulness. Back in 1992, she had launched her own workout VHS dubbed "Journey to Fitness." The video featured a daily workout program that set out to improve watchers' physical and mental wellness, and in 2019, she was starting to embrace that aesthetic again.

That January, she took to Instagram wearing a workout co-ord. In the carousel of images documenting her at-home yoga workout and highlighting her return to the fitness world, the former model was clad in a shorts-and-vest set that featured a marble pattern and a sunshine design. Accompanying pictures of her stretching on the yacht, she wrote, "Yoga works and breathing deep into any pain we may feel allows the oxygen to flow and healing and relief to come."

Maples seemed to confirm the relevance of her new athletic wardrobe in a 2020 episode of her podcast titled "Awakening with Marla Maples." The episode educated listeners on how to adjust their "state of mind." According to the podcast's description on Spotify, Maples' "greatest joy is helping lift others to reach their highest spiritual potential."

While speaking at the Cambridge Union as a wellness guru in 2024, Marla Maples wore beige trousers and a knitted long-sleeve. By prioritizing minimalism and subtlety, she made sure her outfit didn't distract the audience from her speech. While her coordinated look was muted in color, her bohemian-style necklaces added a touch of flair. Maples merged professionalism with glamour by styling her hair in a voluminous blowout — taking us back to her backcombed days in the '90s. Although the beige coloring contrasted her experimenting with colors in the early 2000s, the muted tones emphasized the former model's passion for peace and serenity.

By the mid-2020s, Maples had established herself as a spiritual expert who prioritizes mental wellness and nutrition. The former Trump wife had been invited to speak at a range of locations, namely Harvard Business School, the 2018 Summit of Peace, and the Global Summit on Science, Spirituality, and Environment. She had tallied up an array of appearances for big names, including TEDx and the United Nations. Nowadays it's clear that Maples values authenticity in her wardrobe rather than making bold fashion statements. Her minimal color palette shows how she now favors timeless and comfortable pieces that reflect her tranquil values. It's safe to say she's come a long way from dressing for society's expectations.