Melania Trump's spokesperson blasts the president's ex-wife Ivana for insisting she's the real first lady

Ivana Trump, President Donald Trump's first wife and the mother of his three eldest children, said that while she talks to the president regularly, she doesn't often call the White House directly in order to avoid making first lady Melania Trump jealous.

She added that because she was the president's first wife, she is, in fact, the real first lady.

"I [don't] really want to call him there, because Melania is there," she said during a Sunday interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" in which she promoted her new book, "Raising Trump." "And I don't want to cause any kind of jealousy or something like that, because I'm basically first Trump wife. Okay? I'm first lady."

Melania's spokeswoman was critical of Ivana's comments, characterizing them in a statement on Monday as "attention seeking and self-serving noise."

"She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books," the spokesperson said of Melania. "There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately only attention seeking and self-serving noise."

Ivana said that she would make an excellent first lady herself, but that she would be loathe to give up her "freedom" and "perfect life."

"Would I straighten up the White House in 14 days? Absolutely," she said. "Can I give the speech for 45 minutes without [a] teleprompter? Absolutely. Can I read a contract? Can I negotiate? Can I entertain? Absolutely. But I would not really like to be there. I like my freedom."

She added that she assumes Melania's life in the White House is "terrible."

"I think for her to be in Washington must be terrible," she said. "It's better her than me. I would hate Washington."

Ivana, a Czech-American businesswoman and former model, was married to the president from 1977 until the early 1990s, when the two split after the real estate mogul's affair with Marla Maples became public. Ivana exclusively refers to Maples, whom Trump went on to marry, as a "showgirl."