In her professional life, Ilves has worked in advertising and public relations; she was marketing director of the newspaper Eesti Päevaleht from 1996 to 2001.

[4] In 2005, she began a business project of developing a guesthouse in Ärma farm, located in Abja Parish.

As First Lady, Ilves championed a number of initiatives supporting children, health, and the advancement of women.

On 22 August 2014, footage of Ilves kissing a younger man at a cafe in Tallinn appeared in the Estonian media.

[9] Ilves subsequently returned to public duties, and was present at the official visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan[10] and Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden,[11] in addition to appearing on the front cover of the November edition of the Estonian edition of Hello magazine.