Vanessa Trump, 48, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr., former daughter-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump and partner of golf star Tiger Woods, said Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
In a personal Instagram post, Trump said she underwent a medical procedure earlier in the week but did not disclose the stage of the disease or details of her treatment.
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Vanessa Trump and her daughter Kai
(Photo: Cliff Hawkins / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
“I've recently been diagnosed with breast cancer,” she wrote. “While this isn't news anyone expects, I'm working closely with my medical team on a treatment plan... I am staying focused and hopeful while surrounded by the love and support of my family, my kids, and those closest to me.”
She thanked her doctors and asked for privacy as she focuses on her health and recovery.
Trump, born Vanessa Kay Haydon in 1977, grew up in a townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, in a world of private schools and connections to prominent New York families. Her mother, Bonnie Haydon, ran the Kay Models agency.
As a teenager, Vanessa signed with Wilhelmina Models, appeared in advertisements and fashion magazines and later had a small role in the 2003 romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give, starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. In 1997, she opened a Manhattan nightclub with her sister, Veronika, and later founded a handbag line called La Poshett.
She met Donald Trump Jr. at a fashion show in 2003, in an introduction arranged by Donald Trump himself. The couple married in November 2005 and had five children: Kai, 19, Donald, 17, Tristan, 14, Spencer, 13, and Chloe, 11. After their separation in 2018, Vanessa moved with the children to Jupiter, Florida, and continued using the Trump surname.
Among the first to respond to her post was her former sister-in-law Ivanka Trump, who wrote: “Praying for your continued strength and a swift recovery. Love you mama.” Tiffany Trump also liked the post. Kai, Vanessa’s eldest daughter, shared a photo with her mother on Instagram Stories, writing: “Strongest person I know. Love you.”
Kai, a well-known young golfer, has built a large following on social media and has often appeared alongside her grandfather at the White House.
Vanessa has maintained good relations with the Trump family after her divorce, continuing to attend family events and co-parent her children. Donald Trump Jr. is expected to marry his fiancée, Bettina Anderson, in the coming days. Anderson is a Columbia University graduate, the daughter of a senior Palm Beach banker and an employee of an environmental nonprofit.
The diagnosis comes at a sensitive time, days after Woods, 50, returned to the United States from a six-week rehabilitation program in Zurich, Switzerland. Woods was arrested March 27 on suspicion of drunken driving near his home in Jupiter, Florida. According to reports, opioid pills prescribed for chronic injury pain were found in his possession. He has denied the allegations.
Woods reportedly cut short his stay in Switzerland to attend Kai’s high school graduation. A source told People magazine that Woods had taken treatment seriously and was focused on continuing his recovery.
“Vanessa and Tiger are in love, still serious, and happy to see each other,” the source said, adding that nothing changed between them during his stay abroad.
The two began dating in late 2024 while both were living in Jupiter. Woods made the relationship official on social media in March last year. He later visited the White House for the first time since their relationship became public.