Reports online are swirling about whether the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein attended the wedding of President Donald Trump and ex-wife Marla Maples.
Did Epstein attend the nuptials of Donald and Melania Trump?
Twenty years ago, Donald and Melania Trump were newlyweds. Earlier this year and just two days after Inauguration Day, the couple had celebrated a milestone − 20 years of marriage − on Jan. 22, 2025.
Recently, Donald and Melania Trump celebrated another significant milestone: six months in office as president and first lady − for a second time.
On July 18, the former model from Slovenia posted on X two pages from her best-selling memoir “Melania” about the first time she met her future husband.
On the same day, Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal, filing a lawsuit in Miami federal court after the newspaper’s report about an alleged birthday letter from Donald Trump to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On July 17, the Wall Street Journal had reported that British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell had a leather-bound album made for Epstein’s 50th birthday, before he was first arrested. The book was to be filled with letters from Epstein’s friends, and the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was one of them.
Trump then responded online, said the letter was “FAKE” in a Truth Social post, and called the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.” In his lawsuit, he named as the plaintiffs Dow Jones and Co., News Corp., owner Rupert Murdoch and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joseph Palazzolo.
The Trump administration has faced mounting pressure from both Republicans and Democrats to release more documents regarding Epstein’s criminal case. Trump previously accused the Biden administration of hiding a list of Epstein clients. The Department of Justice had teased that more files would be coming out, but on July 7, Attorney General Pam Bondi said there was no client list and no further disclosure was needed.
After the Wall Street Journal’s story, Donald Trump said he would direct Bondi to release more documents.
On July 22, CNN reported newly uncovered photos and video of Epstein at Donald Trump’s wedding to Marla Maples in 1993. The couple divorced in 1999, not long after he met model Melania Knauss.
Below is what we know about Donald and Melania Trump’s wedding and wedding guest list, from archived photos and coverage of the event by the Palm Beach Post and the Palm Beach Daily News.
When did Donald Trump and Melania Knauss get married?
Billionaire Donald Trump, then host of “The Apprentice” reality TV show on NBC, married Slovenian model Melania Knauss on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005, at Bethesda-By-the-Sea Church in Palm Beach, Florida.
Years later, Melania Trump became the first lady of the U.S. from 2017 to 2021 and will be again from 2025 to 2029.
Who attended the wedding of Donald and Melania Trump? Photos of celebrities at Trump’s wedding in Florida
According to archive news reports from the Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News, now part of the USA TODAY Network, here’s a small list of the 350 people who were invited to Donald and Melania Trump’s wedding in Palm Beach, Florida, in January 2005:
Who was invited to Donald Trump-Melania Knauss wedding but couldn’t make it?
According to a Jan. 21, 2005, story from Palm Beach Daily News, “regrets came from Bruce Willis (shooting in Montreal), Elton John (charity commitment in Europe on Sunday), Oprah Winfrey (the ever-vague “previous engagement”), Joe Torre (in Hawaii), George Steinbrenner (tied up with spring training stuff), Catherine Zeta-Jones and hubby Michael Douglas (he’s on a United Nations peace mission − really!), Eliot Spitzer (previous commitments) and Phil Mickelson, who’s playing in the Buick Invitational.”
Did Jeffrey Epstein attend Donald and Melania Trump’s wedding in Florida? Is Donald Trump in the Epstein files?
On July 22, CNN reported about archive photos and video of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at Donald Trump’s wedding to Marla Maples in 1993. The couple divorced in 1999, not long after he met model Melania Knauss.
Donald Trump has already appeared in legal documents concerning Epstein’s crimes, but never in a way that implicates him.
In the 1990s, Donald Trump rode on aircraft owned by Epstein, according to flight logs released in two lawsuits. But that was 30-plus years ago.
In Palm Beach County state attorney documents, an image of a message pad communication seized in a Palm Beach police search appeared, but there is nothing more than Trump’s name and a phone number.
As of July 23, 2025, it was not known whether Jeffrey Epstein attended or was invited to Donald and Melania Trump’s wedding in 2005 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Contributing: Bill Ingram, Damon Higgins, Bruce R. Bennett and Staci Sturrock, Palm Beach Post, and Jeffrey Langlois, Palm Beach Daily News
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Was Jeffrey Epstein invited to Donald and Melania Trump wedding? List of guests, what to know
Reporting by Jennifer Sangalang, Shannon Donnelly, Kinsey Crowley and Holly Baltz, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
