A former associate of Melania Trump has sensationally claimed the first lady was an “escort” for Jeffrey Epstein and met the president through the notorious sex offender.
Former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro dropped the bombshell allegation on a taped recording, accusing her ex-partner, modeling agent-turned-presidential envoy Paolo Zampolli, of lying about introducing Melania and Donald Trump at a party in 1998.
The story of how Melania Knauss later met her future husband while working as one of Zampolli’s models in New York is now part of MAGA folklore.
It is also something the first lady referenced when she helda surprise press conferencein April, mysteriously denouncing what she claimed were “mean-spirited and politically motivated lies” linking her to the late child sex trafficker.
But in her recording posted on X overnight, Ungaro, who has been locked in a bitter custody battle with Zampolli for months, disputes this version of events.
“Let’s tell the public you never was the one introducing Melania to Trump. It was Jeffrey Epstein, as she was escort of Jeffrey Epstein. That’s how she met Donald Trump,” Ungaro claims in the WhatsApp recording.
“And I know, because I was with you 20 years and you always told me it was not you—it was Jeffrey Epstein,” she added.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House and the first lady’s Office for comment. Zampolli, meanwhile, told the Daily Beast: “I think it is a disgrace that she dares to say this about our marvelous first lady.”
“I’m truly concerned for her health, and I think she truly needs some therapy,” the Trump ally said of his ex.
Zampolli is now a Special Envoy for Global Partnerships and a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.
Ungaro was 17 when she boarded Epstein’s private jet, the so-called “Lolita Express,” on a flight from Paris to New York in June 2002. She was accompanied by her then-agent, French modeling scout Jean-Luc Brunel, who was also a recruiter for Epstein.
The pair spent years moving in the same social circles as the Trumps and were photographed alongside Donald and Melania Trump at Mar-a-Lago events.
Ungaro also made headlines last year, accusing Zampolli of using his influence in Washington to trigger her arrest by U.S. immigration authorities amid an ongoing custody dispute.
Zampolli, however, strongly denies this, as does the Department of Homeland Security.
The latest claim, which was posted on Ungaro’s X account but has now been deleted, has once again put the Epstein saga under the spotlight, with Ungaro suggesting that Zampolli was “covering” for Melania—and vice versa—after he was given a position of power within the administration.
