Was Melania Trump Jeffrey Epstein's girlfriend once?
Executive summary
There is no credible public evidence that Melania Trump was ever Jeffrey Epstein’s girlfriend; released documents show limited social overlap and at least one 2002 email from Melania to Ghislaine Maxwell, but multiple media claims that she was “very involved” with Epstein’s circle have been retracted or apologized for [1] [2] [3] [4]. Allegations sourced to Michael Wolff and to disputed reporting remain unverified and, in some cases, repudiated by publishers [5] [4] [6].
1. The hard documents: email and contact entries show acquaintance, not a romance
DOJ-disclosed Epstein files include what appears to be a 2002 email from Melania Knauss to Ghislaine Maxwell praising a New York magazine piece and saying “Love, Melania,” which demonstrates correspondence and social acquaintance between Melania and Maxwell but does not establish Melania as Epstein’s girlfriend [1] [2] [7].
2. Social circles overlapped — photographic evidence and address-book entries
Photographs and flight/address-book material link Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein socially in the 1990s and 2000s, and Epstein’s address books and flight logs have been reported to include contacts connected to Trump’s circle; these documents illuminate overlapping social networks but do not prove a romantic relationship between Melania and Epstein [8] [9].
3. Sensational claims came from Michael Wolff and have been treated as unproven
Author Michael Wolff recorded interviews and made public claims asserting Epstein “knew her well” and that Epstein had said Donald Trump first had sex with Melania on Epstein’s jet; those specific claims are uncorroborated by primary evidence and generated media corrections and legal pushback — several outlets and publishers later removed or apologized for content based on Wolff’s assertions [5] [9] [4] [6].
4. Media retractions and publisher apologies matter to assessing credibility
The Daily Beast removed an article based on Wolff’s interview and issued a retraction after review, and other publishers issued apologies over similar claims; those editorial actions signal that the more expansive allegations about Melania’s role in Epstein’s circle were not sufficiently substantiated for publication [4] [3] [6].
5. What the record does show: social interactions and correspondence, not a romantic partnership
Reportedly, Melania and Trump were photographed with Epstein and Maxwell at events around 2000 and Melania sent an email to Maxwell in 2002; taken together, the record shows social interactions within elite modeling and social circuits but stops short of evidence that Melania was Epstein’s girlfriend or romantically involved with him [9] [10] [1].
6. Alternative interpretations and limits of available reporting
Some journalists and commentators interpret Melania’s presence in social circles linked to Epstein as meaningful, and Wolff’s accounts reflect that view; others — including outlets that retracted pieces and publishers that apologized — have concluded the documentation does not support those inferences, leaving the most sensational claims unproven [5] [4] [6]. The available sources do not contain incontrovertible proof either way, so definitive denial or confirmation beyond the documentary record would exceed current reporting [2] [7].
Conclusion
The documentary record released and reported to date documents acquaintance and occasional correspondence between Melania Trump and people in Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit — notably a 2002 email to Ghislaine Maxwell and shared social events — but it does not substantiate the claim that Melania was Epstein’s girlfriend; prominent allegations to that effect have been contested, retracted, or apologized for by publishers and remain unverified [1] [2] [4] [6].