'Zero love lost': Melania’s two-word nickname for stepdaughter Ivanka resurfaces, hinting at long-rumored tension

Melania Trump’s upcoming Amazon documentary has reignited speculation about her long-rumored strained relationship with stepdaughter Ivanka Trump, largely because Ivanka is nowhere to be seen in the film. Ahead of the documentary Melania, set to be released on January 30, viewers and media observers noted that President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter is completely absent from the project. That omission has fueled renewed chatter in the rumor mill about whether the relationship between the two women has soured over time.Sources familiar with the documentary told Rob Shuter’s Substack that Ivanka’s absence was not accidental. “Melania and Ivanka do not get along–not at all,” one source said. The source added, “there’s real tension, and Melania made it clear she didn’t want Ivanka anywhere near this film.” “There’s zero love lost,” the source continued, saying that “Ivanka’s absence is intentional.” Neither Melania nor Ivanka has publicly commented on the claims, but the exclusion has reopened old questions about their relationship.Reports of tension between Melania Trump, now 55, and Ivanka Trump, 44, date back to President Trump’s first term in office. The two women were often described as being at odds over influence, visibility, and their respective roles in Trump’s political life.Much of that history was detailed in journalist Mary Jordan’s 2020 biography, The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump. In the book, Jordan reported that each woman had a private nickname for the other subtle signals, she wrote, of deeper tensions.According to Jordan, Ivanka referred to her stepmother as “The Portrait,” while Melania called Ivanka “The Princess.”Jordan’s book also described how tensions emerged almost immediately after Trump entered the White House in 2017. During the first several months of the administration, Melania and her son Barron remained in New York while he finished the school year.In Melania’s absence, Ivanka, who was serving as a senior adviser to her father, reportedly assumed a larger presence in the White House, both publicly and behind the scenes.Jordan wrote that Ivanka attempted to rename the Office of the First Lady as the “First Family’s Office” and enjoyed access to parts of the White House residence before Melania moved in.“With Melania away, Ivanka used the private theater, with its plush red seats, and enjoyed other White House perks. Some said she treated the private residence as if it were her own home. Melania did not like it,” Jordan wrote.Further insight into the alleged strain came from Melania’s former adviser Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who addressed the dynamic in her 2020 book, Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady.“Ivanka rushed in to fill the void as ‘acting’ First Lady, issuing constant social media posts and press releases galore about her involvement with women’s issues, lobbying Daddy about climate change (alas, unsuccessfully), and attending every meeting she could slink her way into,” Wolkoff wrote.Her account reinforced claims that resentment developed early and never fully dissipated.