Carole Radziwill (L) has opened up about her past connections with Ghislaine Maxwell.
Carole Radziwill Talks About Ghislaine Maxwell Friendship After Her Name Pops Up in Epstein Files
Author and journalist Carole Radziwill is reflecting on her past relationship with convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell after her name appeared on the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The Real Housewives of New York City alum Radziwill was once a close friend of Maxwell, who was the associate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and is convicted for her role in the latter's sex trafficking operations. Speaking with The New York Times in a recent interview, Radziwill said she was friends with Maxwell in the early 2000s for five or six years.
The American author and journalist claimed her friendship with Maxwell was social rather than personal. Radziwill revealed that it began after they moved in the same social circles in New York and internationally. During that time, Radziwill worked as a journalist and author, while Maxwell was a popular socialite with connections among the rich and famous.
Carole Radziwill Says She Was Not Aware of Ghislaine Maxwell's Criminal Activities
According to Fox News, former British socialite Maxwell photographed Radziwill's author photo for her 2005 memoir What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love.
Radziwill maintained she was unaware of her convicted friend's involvement in any criminal activity. She told the publication that during their association, Maxwell did not strike her or others in their circle as capable of the crimes she was convicted of.
"The thing about her that made it easy for me to spend any time with her at all was that she was very intelligent, she was educated," Radziwill said. "If you lined up 10 women, and you asked, like, pick the woman who would be involved in an international sex trafficking ring, it would not be her."
An X user shares a photo where Carole Radziwill can be seen sitting beside Ghislaine Maxwell.
Radziwill told the New York Times that she and Maxwell attended events together. She recalled seeing Epstein at one of Maxwell's cocktail parties at her home but added that Maxwell never mentioned the late financier.
Radziwill also revealed that Ghislaine Maxwell introduced her to former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whom she interviewed for a celebrity feature in Glamour magazine in the early 2000s. The former Duke of York's Epstein association plunged the British royal family into major controversy, leading King Charles III to strip his brother's royal title.
The release of millions of documents, emails, and photographs from the notorious Epstein Files over the last few months has fueled growing public scrutiny of a case drawing global attention. The files mention hundreds of individuals, including prominent public figures, celebrities, and politicians; many stress that their name's appearance does not imply wrongdoing.
Carole Radziwill said her association with Jeffrey Epstein was indirect. "I never knew Jeffrey Epstein," she said. The reality TV star also shared that her friendship with Maxwell ended long before her crimes surfaced.