Former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro posted a since-deleted recording on X late Sunday, May 31, 2026. It’s stirring up a storm. She accused modeling agent-turned-special envoy Paolo Zampolli of lying about how Melania Knauss first met Donald Trump.
Zampolli has long claimed he introduced the two at a 1998 New York Fashion Week party, butUngaro’s audio tells a very different story.
- Amanda Ungaro posted and then removed audio alleging Paolo Zampolli lied about introducing Melania and Donald Trump.
- A redacted 2019 FBI interview includes a separate claim that Epstein introduced Melania Trump to Donald Trump.
- Melania Trump denied "lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein" in an April White House statement.
- The allegations remain unverified, and no public documentary evidence has been provided with the deleted audio.
Deleted audio revives scrutiny of the Trumps’ long-disputed Epstein connection claims
Image credits: Getty Images
In the recording, Ungaro alleged that Melania Trump was one of Jeffrey Epstein’s escorts and that Epstein introduced the couple. The claims remain entirely unverified, with no supporting evidence surfacing publicly.
The audio emerged after Melania Trump issued an April 9 White House statement denying “lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein,” following her name appearing in newly published Epstein-related documents in January.
The recording put new attention on a familiar account from the late 1990s: Zampolli has long said he introduced Melania Knauss, then a Slovenian model, to Donald Trump at a 1998 New York Fashion Week party. Ungaro’s allegation directly challenges that version.
Image credits: Getty Images
The Daily Beast reported that Ungaro, who once sat at Melania Trump’s personal inauguration dinner table, shared a WhatsApp recording in which she accused Zampolli, now one of Trump’s appointees to the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees, of lying about the introduction.
Independent journalist Anthony Andrews, who first posted the recording, later said he removed it at Ungaro’s request. “I deleted the video/audio at Amanda’s request after having been given permission to share it last night,” Andrews said. “I was not threatened by Paolo and I don’t believe she was either.”
Image credits: Anthony Andrews / The Daily Beast
A heavily redacted FBI interview summary from July 2019, in which a former Epstein assistant spoke to federal agents and prosecutors under an immunity agreement, contains a similar account. According to that record, the woman told federal agents and prosecutors that “Epstein introduced MELANIA TRUMP to DONALD TRUMP.”
Zampolli strongly rejected Ungaro’s public comments. “I think it is a disgrace that she dares to say this about our marvelous first lady,” he told The Daily Beast. “I’m truly concerned for her health, and I think she truly needs some therapy.”
Enough with the vicious lies, conspiracies and disparaging attacks @AmandaUngaroA against our marvelous First Lady
The truth is in the records. FL Melania Trump is the most elegant, graceful, intelligent, and perfect First Lady America has ever had. A true icon of strength,… pic.twitter.com/OozycoBikX— Paolo Zampolli (@AMBZAMPOLLI) June 1, 2026
Denials, survivor reaction, and a custody fight complicate the fast-spreading online furor
Melania Trump addressed the issue publicly on April 9 from the White House, denying “lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein.” She did not take questions from reporters, and The Daily Beast reported that it was not clear at the time what prompted the statement, which even seemed to catch the president by surprise.
The statement drew mixed responses from Epstein survivors and lawmakers. Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda asked, “So, how does this benefit the Trump family, is my question,” according to a related Daily Beast report.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said one survivor objected to the framing of Melania Trump’s remarks. “One of the survivors said that they felt personally offended by her statement because they felt like it was essentially saying it was on the survivors to come give public testimony,” Stansbury said.
The dispute also comes amid a long and highly public custody battle between Ungaro and Zampolli. Several reports have noted rising tensions between the former couple in recent months, and observers question whether personal grievances may shape the public fight.
Zampolli also raised the possibility that online material may have been manipulated or artificially generated, though he did not provide evidence for that claim. Ungaro previously said, “She knows that I witnessed highly compromising interactions over the course of 20 years.”
Other Epstein-related records remain under scrutiny. NPR reported that the Justice Department removed or withheld some Epstein files that included allegations involving President Trump. Those allegations, like the newly resurfaced claims involving Melania Trump, continue to draw attention while key pieces of evidence remain disputed, redacted, or unavailable to the public.
Image credits: Toglenn / Wikimedia Commons
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