Life in Trump Tower was ground zero for Eric Trump’s extravagant upbringing, offering all the comforts that a New York real estate tycoon like Donald Trump could afford. But luxury couldn’t replace the unhappiness 6-year-old Eric felt when pops decided to abandon his wife Ivana for model Marla Maples in 1990. The divorce was painful enough, but the increase in tabloid attention didn’t help, either. If anything, Eric believed the circumstances toughened him up, although he admitted he gave little thought to connecting the family breakup with the media scrutiny he faced. “I maybe never really put two and two together,” he said to Fox Business, “but that’s probably when we first started getting a little bit of the limelight, some of the attention, and I had to learn to not care.”
While his mother took over much of the childrearing responsibilities concerning the three Trump children, Eric said his father was also influential. Donald wasn’t exactly the type to play with the kids, preferring to take them to construction sites of his property developments. “But he was also strict,” said Eric. “You had to do well in school. Every day I left, I was six years old, he would say ‘no drinking, no drugs, no smoking.’ That’s who he was. He was always so disciplined, but at the same time he gave us enough latitude when we were young professionals to spread our wings a little bit and learn.”
