A bombshell audio recording by a former model has disputed Melania Trump‘s claim about how she and Donald Trump met. It alleged that Jeffrey Epstein introduced the president and the first lady, and not the Italian-American businessman and now presidential envoy, Paolo Zampolli.

Amanda Ungaro, a former Brazilian model and former associate of Melania, accused Zampolli of lying about introducing Trump and Melania. Zampolli is Ungaro’s ex-partner and modeling agent turned presidential envoy. She added that convicted child s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein was the person who brought the couple together.

Melania has long said that she met Trump at the Kit Kat Club in 1998 through Zampolli, who ran a modeling agency in New York and had hired her. However, Ungaro’s now-deleted WhatsApp audio recording reportedly claimed that Melania was Epstein’s “escort.”

“Let’s tell the public you were never the one introducing Melania to Trump. It was Jeffrey Epstein, as she was the escort of Jeffrey Epstein. That’s how she met Donald Trump,” the recording, which was posted to Ungaro’s X account, reportedly stated, according to The Daily Beast.

“And I know, because I was with you 20 years and you always told me that it was not you—it was Jeffrey Epstein,” Ungaro reportedly claimed.

Ungaro’s recording contradicts Melania’s statements. In April 2026, Melania held a surprise press conference, addressing claims and speculations regarding her ties with Epstein, and labeled them as “mean-spirited and politically motivated lies.”

“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, MELANIA,” she told reporters.

“The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000, at an event Donald and I attended together,” Melania, 56, said. She added that she had not met the disgraced financier and s*x trafficker before that and that she was unaware of his criminal activities.

According to The Daily Beast, the files released by the Justice Department included a similar claim by a one-time assistant to Epstein that contradicted Melania’s version of events. The assistant said that it was the late offender who introduced Melania and Trump, a claim reportedly made under penalty-of-perjury conditions.

Zampolli, who is currently the Special Envoy for Global Partnerships in Trump’s administration and a member of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, strongly denied both claims.

In a statement to The Daily Beast, Zampolli said, “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.”

In an X post, Zampolli claimed that Ungaro’s statements were “vicious lies, conspiracies and disparaging attacks.” He also alleged that the content shared by his ex-partner is “AI-manipulated.”

Ungaro and Zampolli share a son, and are currently in a custody battle. They reportedly were together for two decades before they split in 2021.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency deported Ungaro in October 2025. The 41-year-old former Brazilian model alleges that Zampolli used his government position to cause her deportation; however, both the Homeland Security Department and Zampolli deny the claims.

The White House has not yet responded to Ungaro’s sensational claims.