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Ghislaine Maxwell detailed her complex relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, from romance hopes to managing his properties, before her 2021 conviction for aiding his sexual abuse.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein (Image Credit: AFP)
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealed that she “slept” with him one time, and her first thought was that they were soon going to start dating. In her interview with the U.S. Department of Justice, she recalled: “I slept with him one time and thought, ‘we’re going to be dating.’”
“That’s the world I came from,” she said.
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Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted the interview last month in Florida, during which Maxwell described how she believed their relationship was heading towards romance, only to find herself increasingly entangled in Epstein’s affairs.
Now a federal prisoner, she recounted that in 1991 she was introduced to Epstein, who, at the time, was “looking for a wife”. This happened soon after she relocated to New York, following the breakup of her engagement. “I met him at his offices on Madison Garden (sic). And I think the most memorable thing I can think about is that he was wearing a tie, which he didn’t often do,” she said.
But their relationship did not take shape right away. Maxwell said Epstein asked her to help him find a new apartment, which she arranged, while she herself moved into a smaller flat. At that point, she described Epstein as her “lifeline.”
Over time, Maxwell said, she began to see herself as the “general manager” of the convicted paedophile’s property empire, while also becoming involved in his private life, according to audio tapes and transcripts released on August 22, as reported by The New York Post.
Between 1992 and 1996, their professional and personal lives grew increasingly intertwined. They travelled frequently together, and while they often shared a bed, Maxwell said they seldom had intercourse. “Epstein told me he had a heart condition, which meant that he didn’t have intercourse a lot, which suited me fine, because I actually do have a medical condition which precludes me from having a lot of intercourse,” she said. “Epstein liked other forms of sexual activities,” she added.
Maxwell said she spent much of her time with Epstein at the office, even keeping a mental tally of their interactions. She later joined his payroll, starting with an annual salary of $25,000, which eventually rose to $250,000 as she assumed responsibility for managing his multi-million-dollar properties.
Maxwell claimed their sexual relationship began to fade after 1999, and she considered 9/11 the point at which she realised their romance had ended. “It was a scary time if you were in New York…And he was on 71st Street, and I was on 65th Street at my house. And he wouldn’t come see me at all,” she said. “Then I knew…if you’re not going to be there for someone on 9/11, you’re never going to be there. So for me, that was the line’s end.”
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 for her role in recruiting and grooming young women for Epstein to sexually abuse and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Epstein died in 2019 while in custody in Brooklyn.
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