A Deep Dive Into Melania Trump's Hush-Hush Past With Jeffrey Epstein

No one wants to be connected to Jeffrey Epstein because of his history of sex trafficking. But you can't erase the past, and whether it's a shock or not, Melania Trump has had a hush-hush connection with the former businessman.

It's no secret that her husband and former President of the United States, Donald Trump, ran in the same circle as Epstein. In 2002, Donald revealed he had known Epstein for 15 years in New York Magazine and praised the businessman, calling him a "terrific guy." He said, "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life." At this time, Donald had been well into his relationship with Melania, but although Donald was close with Epstein, it was unclear how the former first lady tied into this friendship.

In 2004, the same year Donald proposed to Melania, the businessman had a falling out with Epstein. According to the New York Post, the relationship terminated after the two men fought over a Florida property, which Donald ended up acquiring. Despite the fallout, it didn't erase the friendship that Epstein and Donald once had. And because the former president was close to Epstein, so was Melania, although her relationship with the businessman was kept more private.

Melania and Donald Trump's meet-cute may have involved Jeffrey Epstein; at least, that's what the businessman had said. According to the New York Times, around the time that Donald was running for president, Epstein was telling people he knew that he was the one to introduce the businessman to Melania. Although he claimed the credit for the start of the couple's relationship, Melania and Donald have told a different story on how they met.

Melania revealed to Harper's Bazaar that she was first introduced to Donald in 1998 at a party during New York Fashion Week. Although he was on a date, this didn't stop the former president from asking for the then-model's number. Melania recalled, "He wanted my number, but he was with a date, so of course I didn't give it to him. I said, 'I am not giving you my number; you give me yours, and I will call you.'" Melania took a leap of faith and called Donald just days later, and ever since then, their romance has flourished.

The former first lady didn't mention to Harper's Bazaar who introduced her to Donald. Who knows, it may have been Epstein after all. However, we don't expect Melania or Donald to admit this (if it is true) because they probably do not want to be associated with Epstein's sketchy past.

At one point, Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein seemed to be good pals. Whenever the two businessmen would hang out, Melania Trump would tag along. We know this because a photo of the three, along with Epstein's longtime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has circulated the internet. According to Snopes (via Yahoo! News), the photo of the four was taken at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2000. The photo caused quite a stir in 2020 after Fox News mistakenly cropped out the former president.

According to People, Fox News was reporting on Maxwell's arrest for her involvement in Epstein's sex trafficking scheme when they showed the photo of what was supposed to be Melania, Donald, Epstein, and Maxwell, but the former president was noticeably missing from the image. The network made a big mistake but released an apology not long after the cropped photo hit the air. They shared, "On Sunday, July 5, a report on Ghislaine Maxwell during Fox News Channel's 'America's News HQ' mistakenly eliminated President Donald Trump from a photo alongside then Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell. We regret the error."

Despite how close Donald used to be with the businessman, there have been no public photos of Melania and Epstein since the 2000 image.