Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner: a split, a religious conversion and a ‘business deal’ romance – the highs and lows of America’s ‘de facto first couple’
Donald Trump has reportedly butted heads with his son-in-law, daughter Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner, but the real estate scions both hold influential positions in The White House – for now – what makes their romance tick?
From a split over reported religious differences to their marriage being called the “best business transaction” in the Big Apple, Jvanka’s (yup, they had a nickname when they first started dating) union is filled with unusual anecdotes that, despite the question marks, has managed to endure and earned them the title of “de facto first couple”.
Here’s a look at their ups and downs over the years …
The meet
Back in 2007 friends decided to set them up, but not in the loved-up kind of way. Ivanka and Jared are both from mega-wealthy real estate families and the meeting was a networking opportunity. Ivanka said their pals thought it would be “purely transactional” and the couple now apparently refer to their first meeting as “the best deal we ever made” (or she did, in a 2017 Vogue interview, anyway).
The not-so-secret romance
The couple tried to hide their romance, arriving at parties separately and avoiding each other at joint events. But their PDA was on another level and eventually Iva (the name Jared calls her) publicly kissed him.