'I've been there... I don’t know many men who can keep their zippers up': Ivana sympathizes with Vanessa over her son Trump Jr's 'affair' and says her ex-husband should just 'play golf' rather than run for re-election in 2020

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President Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump, has said she doesn't think he should run for re-election in 2020 as she revealed she sympathizes with her son's ex over cheating allegations.

'Donald is going to be 74, 73 for the next [election] and maybe he should just go and play golf and enjoy his fortune,' Ivanka, 69, said, in a candid interview quoted by Page Six. 'I don't think its necessary.'

She also revealed it was her who told Trump about his daughter-in-law's fining for divorce from Donald, Jr in March. 

'[The cheating was] a long time ago now, so I think Vanessa knew it all along and maybe she just couldn’t get over the hurt to forgive him,' Ivana said, of allegations that her son cheated on his wife with Aubrey O'Day while she was a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice.

'But I honestly don’t know that many men who can keep their zippers up,' she added, noting that the news struck a chord with her, as she found out Trump cheated on her from a New York Post columnist at a party.

'It’s always distressing, because I’ve been there,' Ivana said. 

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President Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump, has said she doesn't think he should run for re-election in 2020; She is seen here at the Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala on January 27 in New York City

President Donald Trump is seen here by himself while playing golf with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese Professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama Prefecture on November 5

Donald Trump Jr and his wife Vanessa Trump (left)  attend the 140th annual Easter Egg Roll with their five children on the South Lawn of the White House on April 2 in Washington, DC; Vanessa filed for divorce from Donald, Jr in March after he allegedly cheated with Aubrey O'Day (right)

The president's first ex-wife talked openly about her close relationship with 'The Donald,' as she calls him, as she makes the rounds to promote her book, Raising Trump, which will be released in paperback less than two weeks.

'We speak every month,' said the mother of Eric, 34, Ivanka, 36, and Donald, Jr, 40, despite the fact that the two divorced in 1992 after Trump's affair with Marla Maples, the mother of Tiffany Trump, came to light.

Ivana talked about how her ex may not have realized exactly what he signed up for when he won the presidency in 2016. 

'I think he probably [misses] a little bit of freedom,' she said. 'I don’t think he probably knew how much is involved of being the president. It’s so [much] information — you have to know the whole world.' 

Ivana Trump is mother to Eric (left), Ivanka (second from left) and Donald, Jr (right), who are seen here with their father at a press conference on January 11, 2017 at Trump Tower in NYC

Ivana didn't express any shock over Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen paying Stormy Daniels (whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford) $130,000, allegedly to cover up an affair they had just after Barron Trump was born to the president's current wife, Melania, in 2006. 

'I feel bad for [Melania] because I know how bad I did feel. It hurts a lot,' Ivana said.

'I divorced Donald immediately [after I discovered the Maples affair] because I told myself, "Am I going to live with the person [who] is going to say, 'I’m going to go and play golf' [leaving me to] think, 'Is he really going to go and play golf?'" I cannot do it.

First Lady Melania Trump speaks during a discussion with local middle school students about their lives in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 9

Trump and Melania arrive for Easter service at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida on April 1

'I have pride and I have dignity and stuff like that, but so many women, around the world, they live with the men knowing that they are cheating and stuff like that. Everybody handles their situation their own way.' 

In January, however, Ivana came to Trump's defense over accusations that he showed himself to be racist when he was said to have called Haiti and African nations 's***hole countries.'

'I don't think Donald is racist at all,' Ivana told Good Morning Britain on January 15.

'Sometimes he says these things which are silly, or he doesn’t really mean them, but he’s definitely not racist, I’m sure of that.'

She said she couldn't explain why he might say things that seem racist, but added: 'He has so many people telling him left and right what to say and what not to say and things like that, and sometimes maybe it gets confusing.'

Trump listens during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday

Trump denied he made the comment as quoted by several people who said they were in the room. Instead, he said he used 'tough language,' in a tweet posted on January 12. 

Ivana also said the president's use of social media is 'not a bad idea,' to avoid situations where his words might be misquoted, or taken out of context.

'If he tweets, it’s out of his mouth,' she said. 'Sometimes maybe it’s not clear, but at least it’s exactly what he thinks.'  

Ivana has said the president's use of social media is 'not a bad idea,' to avoid situations where his words might be misquoted, or taken out of context

Left to right: Robert Trump, Fred Trump, Donald Trump, Ivana Trump, Elizabeth Trump, Mary Anne Trump and Roy Cohn attend 38th Annual Horatio Alger Awards Dinner on May 10, 1985 at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City

Left to right: Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump, Jr, listen to the second presidential debate at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri on October 9, 2016

The president was married to Ivana for 15 years, from 1977 to 1992.

Her book, Raising Trump, covers how she tried to instill life lessons of loyalty, honesty, integrity, and drive in the president's three oldest children, during their marriage, after their divorce and extending through their children's adult lives in roles they never thought they'd find themselves in.

'Every day, people ask me how I raised such great kids. They are truly amazed when I tell them that there was no magic to their upbringing,' she said.

'I was a tough and loving mother who taught them the value of a dollar, not to lie, cheat, or steal, respect for others, and other life lessons that I’ll share now in Raising Trump, along with unfiltered personal stories about Don, Eric, and Ivanka from their early childhood to becoming the "'first sons and daughter."' 

The title was first released in hardcover and digital versions in October. It's available for purchase in paperback beginning May 1, and available for pre-order now.