Vanessa Trump, the former wife of Donald Trump Jr., has announced she is battling breast cancer.
She shared the news in an emotional Instagram post, telling followers that she had a medical procedure following the diagnosis and is starting a treatment plan.
The 48-year-old former model and socialite did not disclose the stage of her cancer or offer specific medical details, but noted that she is focused on her health.
“I want to share a personal health update. I’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer. While this isn’t news anyone expects, I’m working closely with my medical team on a treatment plan. I had a procedure earlier this week,” she wrote.
In her post, Trump expressed gratitude to her doctors and focused heavily on her role as a mother of five, noting that she is staying hopeful while surrounded by the love and support of her children and family.
“I am staying focused and hopeful while surrounded by the love and support of my family, my kids, and those closest to me. Thank you for your kindness and support. It truly means more than I can express. I kindly ask for privacy as I focus on my health and recovery,” she added.
Following the announcement, public notes of support began coming in from family members, including her former sister-in-law, Ivanka Trump.
Born and raised in New York, Vanessa Haydon built a career as a successful fashion model, signed with Wilhelmina Models before transitioning into business and philanthropy.
She married Donald Trump Jr. in 2005 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and the couple spent over a decade in the public eye raising their five children before finalising their divorce in late 2018.
Her diagnosis highlights a broader reality for millions of women worldwide, as breast cancer remains the most common cancer type among women globally.
According to data from the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, an estimated 2.3 million new cases are diagnosed in women each year.
A 2026 systematic analysis published in The Lancet Oncology projected that new global breast cancer cases will rise by a third to over 3.5 million annually by the year 2050.