‘It was Jeffrey Epstein’ who introduced Melania to Trump, ex-model claims

For years, Italian former modeling agent and longtime Trump ally Paolo Zampolli has maintained that he was responsible for introducing Melania and President Donald Trump in the late 1990s. Specifically, as Zampolli told the New York Times in a 2016 interview, he introduced Melania to her future husband at a 1998 party he hosted at New York City’s Kit Kat Club.

Now, however, a former associate of Melania Trump appears to be publicly challenging that account.

In a now-deleted video posted on X, former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro accuses her ex-partner, Zampolli, of lying about having introduced Melania and Donald Trump at the party. Instead, Ungaro alleges the future first lady was an “escort” tied to Jeffrey Epstein and actually met Trump through the late convicted sex offender.

“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. And I know, because I was with you 20 years and you always told me it was not you—it was Jeffrey Epstein,” Ungaro claims in the video, which New Times has not independently verified.

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Amanda Ungaro is claiming that Melania was an Escort for Epstein and that is how she met Trump. Video from @anthon7yandrews https://t.co/VwVk8E1ybr pic.twitter.com/jUrokbikkN — Knoxie (@KnoxieLuv) June 1, 2026

In 2002, when she was just 17, Ungaro arrived in New York on Epstein’s private jet, commonly referred to by those in the know as the “Lolita Express” alongside her agent, Jean-Luc Brunel. That same year, Ungaro met Zampolli, then 32, at a Manhattan nightclub, where he recruited her as a modeling client, encouraged her to move to the United States, and began a relationship that produced a now-16-year-old son, that allegedly lasted two decades.

Over the years, the pair moved in the same social circles as Donald and Melania Trump and were repeatedly photographed alongside the couple at Mar-a-Lago events. During Trump’s first administration, Ungaro served as Grenada’s ambassador to the United Nations, while Zampolli was appointed ambassador to Dominica.

But after years of partying in their elite social circles, Zampolli and Ungaro parted ways.

Related Miami activist groups blast mayor over ICE agreement

In the summer of 2025, amid Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, Ungaro was arrested on charges of fraud at the medical spa where she worked and jailed. Like many immigrants, she was then transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and deported from Miami back to her native Brazil.

In March, the New York Times dropped a bombshell of a report: Zampolli, a modeling agent-turned-presidential special envoy, had asked ICE to detain Ungaro amid an ongoing custody battle over their child.

“Mr. Zampolli, 56, is known in Washington for flaunting his proximity to the Trumps,” the Times story reads. “In this case, he used his clout to solicit help from an agency beset by allegations of unlawful overreach.”

Ungaro’s claims appear to contradict statements Melania Trump made during a surprise press conference in April, when she denounced what she described as “mean-spirited and politically motivated lies” linking her to Epstein.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect,” she began. She went on to deliver a meandering account, distancing herself from the convicted sex offender.

The White House did not immediately respond to New Times‘ request for comment via email.