By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Sunday, March 6, 2016
Georgia native and former Donald Trump wife Marla Maples is joining the 22nd season of "Dancing With the Stars," according to E! News.
The program is clearly capitalizing on the spotlight on Trump as a presidential candidate.
Maples was born in Cohutta and grew up in the Dalton area. She attended high school in Tunnel Hill.
The 52 year old married Trump in 1993 and divorced him in 1999.
In 2007, I interviewed Maples for a short-lived ABC reality show "The Ex Wives Club" about helping divorcees put their lives back together.
Here's an excerpt of what I wrote at the time:
In the shadow of the Donald, Maples said, "it was a constant job to hold on to who I was." Daughter Tiffany and a teacher in Israel, she said, helped her move beyond the marriage itself.
A decade after leaving Trump (who the New York Post once quoted her as saying gave her the "best sex I've ever had") Maples said she gets along fine with the real estate mogul and has even been to "The Apprentice" set a few times.
However, she didn't think the show worked as well when it moved to Los Angeles this past season. "He represents New York, " she said.
Here's the infamous New York Post cover of yore:
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
She's the second person with Georgia ties who is supposed to be on "Dancing With the Stars." Marietta's Kim Fields ("Real Housewives of Atlanta," "The Facts of Life," "Living Single") has also reportedly joined the cast.
All the cast members will be named on "Good Morning America" Tuesday. The season debuts in two weeks March 21.
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