Ivana Trump seemed ‘happy and healthy’ in the weeks before she died, her friends have revealed, as they expressed shock at her passing aged 73.

The ex-wife of the former president appeared ‘terrific’ and ‘in good spirits’ three weeks ago, the owner of her favorite restaurant told DailyMail.com.

Atilla Cetin, general manager at the Italian restaurant Nello, a block from the Upper East Side townhouse, fought back tears as he said he regretted not visiting her before she died.

Staff at her local salon, which she regularly visited, also expressed disbelief at the news, saying she looked very healthy as she prepared for a vacation in St Tropez.

Ivana died at the age of 73 after being found ‘unconscious and unresponsive’ in her New York City townhouse, hours before she had a hair salon appointment.

The socialite was found at the bottom of a set of stairs in her Manhattan home shortly before 1pm on Thursday by a staff member arriving at the residence, and investigators she may have fallen.

Nello manager Cetin, 42, told DailyMail.com: ‘She was so wonderful. [To us] she was our First Lady. Even when she was walking to the restaurant and people would want to take a picture with her or talk to her, she never refused anyone.She was always so polite, so amazing.’

Cetin said he had walked past her apartment on Wednesday and briefly thought about checking in on her, but ultimately didn’t.

‘I should come by because I hadn’t seen her in a while.I wish I had, but I didn’t want to bother her,’ Cetin told DailyMail.com, before showing how Ivana had texted him a DailyMail.com article picturing him walking her home in May.

Ivana was found ‘unconscious and unresponsive’ after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest in her home on the same day she was set to have her weekly hair appointment at Salih Salon. She had been a regular at the salon for the 20 years.

Cetin, said Ivana looked in good health the last time he had seen her.He said she would frequent the restaurant ‘twice a week,’ or sometimes three or four times a month. 

He showed DailyMail.com pictures of Ivana and Donald Trump on the restaurant’s celebrity wall.

The two developed a close relationship during Cetin’s last eight years at the restaurant, and he would often find himself laughing while talking with Ivana as he walked her home after she dined.

Most of the time, however, Cetin said Ivana visited the restaurant with friends, politicians and designers. The manager said Ivana would usually get the Ossobuco, a cross-cut veal dish braised with vegetables.

‘How she talked, how she walked … she looked like she was born in a castle.I can’t believe it, because she looked so healthy,’ Cetin said.

‘I would walk her to her house and she never complained about anything bothering her. Still, now, I want to walk there and ask, ”are you guys sure that it is her who died?”’   

Meanwhile Fatih Cakirca, 49, brother of salon owner, Salih, told DailyMail.com that the staff at the salon was also in disbelief at Ivana’s passing as she looked very healthy and was preparing for a vacation in St Tropez.

‘My brother [has done her hair] for 20 years.I’ve also known her for 20 years. She was a very nice lady, we’re shocked and sad. She had an appointment today at 2 p.m. and the housekeeper just canceled,’ Cakirca said. 

Ivana had also scheduled a hair appointment in preparation for her trip to St Tropez at Salih Salon. 

‘I know she was going to St Tropez until September.I just saw her last Friday, she came to the salon, I did her hair. She was great, nothing wrong with her,’ Fatih Carkica told DailyMail.com 

‘She looked very healthy and happy. She was a very lovely lady …. Very friendly. ‘ 

Cakirca said that Ivana’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Rossano Rubicondi, who passed away last year, would also get her hair cut at the salon. 

Rubicondi, an Italian actor, was battling liver cancer and suffered a lung aneurysm in the bathtub in October. 

Ivana and Rossano dated for six years before they tied the knot in 2008 during a lavish $3 million ceremony at Mar-A-Lago, the Palm Beach estate owned by her second ex-husband, Donald Trump. She was 59 at the time, while he was 36.   

Ivana was found at the bottom of a set of stairs in her Manhattan home shortly before 1pm on Thursday by a staff member arriving at the residence, and investigators she may have fallen, possibly after suffering a medical episode.An official cause of death has yet to be confirmed. 

‘It’s been a very sad day, a very sad day,’ Eric Trump said as he left his mother’s Upper East Side home near Central Park. 

Ivana spent her final days preparing for a long-awaited getaway to St.Tropez on Friday, and had planned a visit to her usual hair stylist on the day she was found dead, an employee at the salon told DailyMail.com. 

News of Ivana’s death was first shared by Trump, via a post on his Truth Social account on Thursday afternoon. 

‘I am very saddened to inform all of those that loved her, of which there are many, that Ivana Trump has passed away at her home in New York City,’ he wrote. 

Trump shared three children with his ex-wife, whom he married in 1977 and divorced in 1992, and went on to pay tribute to Ivana, describing her as a ‘beautiful, amazing’ woman, while honoring her close bond with their children together: Donald Jr, Eric, and Ivanka. 

Ivana’s son Eric confirmed the news of Ivana’s death to DailyMail.com, saying in a statement issued on behalf of the family: ‘Our mother was an incredible woman – a force in business, a world-class athlete, a radiant beauty, and caring mother and friend. 

‘Ivana Trump was a survivor.She fled from communism and embraced this country. She taught her children about grit and toughness, compassion and determination.

‘She will be dearly missed by her mother, her three children and ten grandchildren.’

Detectives believe Trump was fatally injured falling down the stairs, perhaps after suffering a medical episode, a police official told the .Foul play is not suspected.

She was last seen alive on Wednesday at 4.30pm when her housekeeper and assistant left the home, the person said. 

Two people familiar with the matter told AP that police believe her death was accidental.The medical examiner’s office will determine an official cause of death.

Police said that Ivana was discovered unresponsive at 12.40pm by cops who had been called to her Upper East Side townhouse on a wellness check, according to the . 

Authorities are investigating whether a cardiac arrest may have played a role in her death, the outlet reported. 

Ivana was last pictured out and about in New York City on June 22, when she was seen leaving her Upper East Side townhouse and being escorted to hair salon.

Images showed the socialite being assisted by an aide, who gave her arm to Ivana as they strolled down the sidewalk to her hair appointment. 

The 73-year-old grandmother had remained highly cloistered during the COVID-19 pandemic, but planned to depart for her St.Tropez trip on Friday, her best friend Nikki Haskell told . 

‘She was leaving for St. Tropez tomorrow. This was going to be her first trip away since the pandemic,’ said Haskell. ‘She was afraid of getting the virus,’ 

Haskell added that Ivana was ‘totally locked down’ during the pandemic and ‘wouldn’t go anywhere’ because she was so afraid of catching COVID-19. 

Ivana Trump is survived by her mother, her three children and 10 grandchildren. 

Ivana’s mother, Marie Zelníčková, is 95 and due to turn 96 in September; she was last seen with her daughter in 2019, when the family gathered to mark the matriarch’s 93rd birthday. 

Ivana’s daughter Ivanka Trump posted a tribute to her mother on Instagram, sharing several family photos from throughout the years. 

‘Heartbroken by the passing of my mother.Mom was brilliant, charming, passionate and wickedly funny. She modeled strength, tenacity and determination in her every action,’ wrote Ivanka.

‘She lived life to the fullest — never forgoing an opportunity to laugh and dance,’ she added.’I will miss her forever and will keep her memory alive in our hearts always.’

Eric also took to Instagram to post a tribute to his late mother, sharing several images of the socialite and her children over the years, including photos of Ivana with her children when they were younger. 

A grieving Eric was pictured leaving his late mother’s home on Thursday afternoon, at around 4.30PM ET, making his way out of the townhouse alongside his wife, Lara. 

Lara posted her own touching tribute to her mother-in-law on Instagram, writing: ‘An incredible spirit…an unmatched icon…an amazing woman. We love you, Ivana.’

According to TMZ, Ivana – who was reportedly worth $100 million when she died – was discovered in her home not breathing by a female employee arriving for the day, who called 911.