Fact Check: Is the claim Melania was an escort before meeting Trump at Ghislaine Maxwell's party true?

WASHINGTON, DC: The Department of Justice released the long-anticipated transcripts of former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s July interview last month, which revealed several shocking claims. She denied the existence of a "client list" linked to Jeffrey Epstein and also described her personal relationship with him.

Amid this, a rumor circulated online claiming that first lady Melania Trump had worked as an escort before she met President Donald Trump at a party hosted by Ghislaine Maxwell. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below. 

Claim: Melania was an escort before meeting Trump at Ghislaine Maxwell's party

In recent months, a rumor has circulated across social media platforms such as X and Facebook, alleging that Melania Trump worked as an escort before meeting her now-husband, Donald Trump.

The rumor also claimed that Melania met Trump at a party hosted by Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child s*x trafficking in 2021 for her ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

The copypasta version of the rumor, which spread widely online, read: "Here's Melania when Zampolli first brought her to NYC. This is the apartment in Union Square where he set her up, and her photographer roommate, Matthew Arabian. Melania knew Epstein before she knew Trump."

The claim, however, is not new. According to Snopes, it has been circulating since at least August 2016, when the Daily Mail published an article making similar allegations.

More recently, in August 2025, former President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, repeated the rumor during an interview on Channel 5, a YouTube channel run by journalist Andrew Callaghan, claiming that Jeffrey Epstein introduced the couple.

Fact Check:  False, claims are unsupported by credible evidence and unfounded

The claims made in the viral rumor are false, as they are unsupported by credible evidence and unfounded.

Melania Trump previously sued the Daily Mail and a US blogger who shared the claim, filing a $150 million defamation lawsuit, according to the BBC and NPR.

Her lawyer, Charles Harder, told the BBC that the allegation was "outright lying." Melania also threatened to sue Hunter Biden for $1 billion, the BBC reported.

According to Politico, both the blogger and the Daily Mail settled the lawsuits, retracted their articles, and paid damages to the first lady.

In summary, there is no evidence that the claims, which originated from sources known for spreading unfounded rumors, had any factual basis. Likewise, there is no evidence that the Trumps met at a party hosted by Maxwell.

Instead, The Times of London reported that the couple met at a party hosted by Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent who represented Melania in the 1990s.

Ghislaine Maxwell told DOJ she 'always liked' and still 'admires' Trump

Ghislaine Maxwell told the Department of Justice in a recent interview that she "always liked" Donald Trump and still "admires" him.

During the interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Maxwell said, "I actually never saw the president in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way." She described Trump as "always very cordial" and "very kind" to her, calling him a "gentleman in all respects."

"I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming president. And I like him, and I’ve always liked him," Maxwell said. She concluded, "That is the sum and substance of my entire relationship with him."