The Woman Who Knows Too Much: An Interview with Amanda Ungaro 

Last week, Melania Trump issued a mysterious six-minute statement from the White House podium in language couched in legalese, denying that she was friends with Jeffrey Epstein and threatening “those who would tell lies about me.” Like everyone else in the world, we wondered what provoked it. Thanks to an independent journalist named Bekah Day, we all soon understood what Melania was responding to: recent statements by Amanda Ungaro, a former model and friend.  

We reached out to Ungaro, who sent us answers to our questions over a messaging platform.

Ungaro was deported to Brazil earlier this year, after her ex, Paolo Zampolli—the man who brought her into the U.S. decades ago, was Trump’s former business partner, and now serves as Trump 2.0’s “Special Envoy for Global Partnerships”—made a call that apparently resulted in ICE detaining and then deporting her. Zampolli and Ungaro have been engaged in an ongoing child custody battle. The child is currently staying in New York with Zampolli.

This display of abusive power was first reported by Day and eventually by the New York Times. Zampolli told the Times he didn’t direct the deportation, but contacted the agency because he was “curious.”

Amanda has known the Trumps for years. She and Zampolli were guests at the President’s table at both Trump inaugurations. In our exchange with Ungaro, she contradicts some reported elements of the Melania-Donald story, including how they met, and says that Melania “knows that I witnessed highly compromising interactions over the course of 20 years.” She says she would be willing to testify before the House Oversight Committee if asked.

The interview has been translated from her written responses in Portuguese and edited for clarity.   

The First Lady’s office and Zampolli, contacted separately, did not respond to requests for comment. Where there exists public record of either First Lady Melania Trump or Paolo Zampolli denying wrong doing, those comments have been included. 

When and under what circumstances did you meet Zampolli?

The first time I had contact with Paolo Zampolli was when I was 15 years old. I can state that, starting from this first meeting, Paolo Zampolli began harassing me in an attempt to pursue an intimate relationship.

When and under what circumstances did you meet Melania?

I was introduced to Melania by Paolo Zampolli; at that time, we were already dating, and that is when I was introduced to her.

What was Melania’s immigration status, and who handled her case? The same lawyers who handled yours?

I cannot answer that specific detail; however, she was already in a relationship with Trump, and I was already aware that Paolo Zampolli was the person responsible for negotiating visas to legalize his models’ status in the United States. Everyone knew that this was a task he performed. Like everyone else, I know that she worked and earned money for a long time while undocumented—and that, too, fell under Paolo Zampolli’s purview. He circumvented the law, enabling the models to work and earn money illegally. He did the same with me when I joined the agency.

Did you speak with Melania about your deportation and Zampolli’s involvement? When, and what was her reaction?

I tried to reach her through contacts who had direct access to her; and, based on what those contacts told me, she was aware of the situation but did nothing.

Her reaction was one of indifference regarding what was happening to me. It seems to me that Melania, together with her husband, has a pact with Paolo Zampolli. Paolo constructed a false narrative claiming that he was the one who introduced Melania to her husband—and not only do I know this isn’t true, but everyone knows it isn’t true [Author’s Note: Melania and Zampolli have both denied this]. I don’t know what the specific agreement was behind the creation of this narrative, but Paolo was an associate of Epstein, and they did business together.

You became close enough to get to know Melania’s Slovenian immigrant family. Tell us about your relationship with them, as well as with her.

Yes, I became very close to her family. Holiday parties, Christmas, the White House, Mar-a-Lago—we were always invited, and for Paolo, our attendance was non-negotiable. This was the core of Paolo’s power strategy: the greater the intimacy, the more assurance he would have that he could be exactly where he wanted to be at any given moment. If you search on X, you can find a video that Paolo had my son, Giovanni, make for Melania—specifically with the aim of further entrenching us within the family circle [A/N: This is the video Amanda is referring to]. It wasn’t enough to involve just me; he had to involve my son as well. He constantly sought to heighten the level of intimacy, as if doing so would guarantee the execution of his ambitious, corrupt schemes—the very kind of schemes he was already engaging in back when he was involved with the United Nations.

What do you know about Melania’s relationship with Epstein?

I was younger than Melania. Everything [regarding that situation] had already taken place by the time I came along; yet, the whole thing felt strange and made no sense. It was as if their relationship had been pre-programmed—like a specific project that Paolo had meticulously architected, solely to claim the power and credit for having orchestrated their meeting. Everything that is unfolding now was, in fact, part of that original plan. Paolo Zampolli had business dealings with Epstein; he was a recruiter of girls for Epstein. It was all always a plan [A/N: Zampolli has denied being involved with Epstein socially or in business].

Can you characterize Melania’s relationship with Zampolli?

Paolo Zampolli always portrayed himself as the one who initiated the relationship. It always seemed to me that Paolo held some hidden leverage over Melania’s life—something that kept her in his thrall. It was a business arrangement, it seems to me—an agreement from which both parties stood to benefit. Just look at how things have turned out today.

What can you tell us about Zampolli’s personal life? The cameras, his treatment of women, and his sex life?

Paolo Zampolli is a sick individual. He stole from his mother, kicked her out of her home, and placed her in a nursing home. Paolo Zampolli hates women.

My life with him was something that is difficult, even now, to describe. I was only 17 years old—easily manipulated—and I had come from the interior of Brazil. He seduced me in every conceivable way; given the absence of my family, doing so was all too easy for him. I longed for a family life—the kind I had always known. 

Even before I turned 17, Paolo had already begun harassing me; he was aggressive, constantly sending gifts and flowers—no matter where I happened to be, those presents would always find their way to me.

Paolo persisted in his advances, and I eventually decided to give him a chance at a relationship—even though he was never the kind of man I had idealized.

At first, everything felt new and exciting, but as time went on, things took a turn for the worse. He was a man with absolutely no personal hygiene; he would rummage through trash cans to retrieve discarded plastic containers, and he was incapable of even washing his own drinking glass. These were the habits of someone who had always had everything handed to him on a silver platter.

During a trip to Italy, acquaintances of his told me that Paolo’s youth was already marked by crimes committed against car insurance companies.

Our family life was another disaster. Lacking any sense of family dynamics, we had no normal family routine. Our home was more like a club—a venue for meetings and business dealings. There was no true family atmosphere, no dialogue between husband and wife. He was the sole conductor of everything, and this came at the cost of my modeling career.

One night—just before an audition for a fashion show that Paolo didn’t want me to do—I was punched in the face; the blow left me bruised and marked, making it impossible for me to attend.

I endured every conceivable form of violence. I was treated like a disposable object—used and then cast aside.

I was subjected to psychological abuse, sexual harassment, false imprisonment, domestic violence, and non-consensual sex.

After Giovanni was born, things became even worse. People often ask me: “Why didn’t you leave Paolo Zampolli?” Paolo confiscated our passports and became even more violent. When I finally ended our relationship in 2018, he wiretapped my phone; I was followed through the streets and had no peace. It was one abuse after another.

Our home felt like a reality TV show. Everything was filmed and controlled by him—hidden listening devices were planted throughout the house, and people would trail me whenever I went out.

For six years, we didn’t even sleep together anymore, as his lack of respect—and his persistent habit of associating and having sexual relations with prostitutes—had become chronic. Whenever we hosted a party at our home, I would retreat to my bedroom; meanwhile—showing a complete lack of respect for both me and my son—Paolo would use other rooms in the house to have sex with the people he had invited over. They were not my guests. Paolo’s sexual partners were exclusively prostitutes.

In Washington, he would host parties attended by underage girls who were accompanied by older men.

Where is your son, and what is the status of your efforts to reunite with him?

Giovanni was supposed to be here in Brazil, per a judicial ruling [a court order]. He did come, but his father influenced and funded him to return to New York, as he wanted him to spend Christmas with Trump.

Currently, there is a legal case pending with the Brazilian government regarding the abduction of a vulnerable person  [for Giovanni]. As I have been deported, I am currently unable to see my son; furthermore, Prosecutor Stacy Cleveland [with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office] has designated me a fugitive, and there is an active arrest warrant against me issued by Florida authorities. She engaged in email correspondence with Paolo Zampolli, and in my view, she is compromised by Paolo—the very man who attempted to have me serve a six-year prison sentence in a Florida state prison without ever presenting a single piece of evidence against me.

Did Melania personally threaten you? If so, in what way and when?

Melania felt threatened, and while she did not threaten me directly, she knows that I witnessed highly compromising interactions over the course of 20 years. She does not know the full extent of what I know—for I lived with Paolo for 20 years.

Would you testify before the House Oversight Committee?

Absolutely.