Carole Radziwill addresses Maxwell friendship after Epstein files surface

“Real Housewives of New York City” alum Carole Radziwill is speaking out after her name resurfaced in files related to late sex offender Jeffery Epstein.

The 62-year-old television personality was once close friends with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s long-term partner and convicted child sex offender.

During a recent interview New York TimesRadziwill described her years-long relationship with British socialite Maxwell, who was later convicted for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Summons Bill Gates, Leon Black to Testify About JEFFREY EPSTEIN CONNECTIONS

“Imagine you know someone … and then imagine they turn into a monster,” Radziwill said in an interview published Thursday.

“I was friends with him for, I don’t know, five or six years in the early 2000s,” he added.

Radziwill emphasized that at the time, Maxwell did not see himself or others in his group of friends as someone who could engage in such behavior, and that he was stunned when he learned of his crimes.

“What always made it easy for me to spend time with him was that he was so smart and educated,” Radziwill said. “If you lined up 10 women and asked them to pick the one who would be involved in an international sex trafficking ring, it wouldn’t be her.”

WHOOPI GOLDBERG CLOSES ALL LINKS TO EPSTEIN WHILE ADDRESSING THE NAME SEEN IN FILES IN ‘VIEW’

Radziwill explained the circumstances behind her long-standing friendship with Maxwell. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Maxwell is credited as the photographer of Radziwill’s author photograph in his 2005 memoir “What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love.” Radziwill’s name appears in some of the Epstein-related documents made public in recent months, which has led to renewed scrutiny of people with any connection to Epstein or Maxwell.

Documents include contact lists, emails, and social testimonials; many of these are notable despite the absence of any alleged criminality by the individuals named.

The files include emails between the former reality star and Maxwell, as well as messages the socialite sent about her to others, including Bill Clinton donor and billionaire Ted Waitt and Radizwill’s sister-in-law and memoir editor Teresa DiFalco, who died in 2021.

GHISLAINE MAXWELL WANTS THE FIFTH AMENDMENT, AVOIDS QUESTIONS ABOUT INSTITUTIONAL OVERSIGHT EPSTEIN PROBE

While speaking to the NYT, Radziwill explained that she initially connected with Maxwell because both women moved to overlapping New York and international social circles.

Radziwill explained that her connection to Epstein was indirect and based on that friendship, which ended long before Maxwell’s crimes were made public.

Radziwill said that they often attended events together in the early 2000s. (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

During their friendship, Radziwill said she worked as a journalist and author following the 1999 death of her husband, Anthony Radziwill, a cousin of John F. Kennedy Jr. Maxwell, meanwhile, was known as a well-connected socialite with ties to high-profile figures in media, politics and the royal world.

EPSTEIN’S ACCOUNTANT AND LAWYER REVEALED THE DOJ NEVER QUESTIONED THEM ABOUT THE DISGRACED FINANCER’S CRIMES

Radziwill shared that Maxwell helped facilitate meeting the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor, who recently lost his royal title due to his ties to Epstein, for a magazine interview.

Radziwill spoke with the former prince for the “Lunch Date” column, a celebrity interview feature he contributed to Glamor magazine in the early 2000s.

In an interview with the NYT, Radziwill said that she and Maxwell go to events together. He said he once remembered attending a cocktail party at Maxwell’s house and seeing Epstein, but his friend never mentioned him.

A-LIST PUBLISHER ANNOUNCES $100,000 GIVEAWAY FOR EPSTEIN’S ‘BABY MAMA’ SEARCH: 5 BABIES AS TOLD BY PEGGY SIEGAL

“I never knew Jeffrey Epstein,” he said.

He admitted he was shocked by Maxwell’s crimes. (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Raziwill said the renewed attention means reexamining a chapter of his life that he said he had long since closed.

According to Radziwill, his relationship with Maxwell was social rather than intensely personal, and he had previously said that he was never aware of, nor did he witness any criminal activity, for which his former friend was later convicted.

FORMER VICTORIA’S CORPORATE CEO’S LAWYER CAUGHT ON HOT MIC THREATENING TO ‘KILL’ HIM AS A JOKE AT EPSTEIN DISTRIBUTION

In December 2021, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to entice and transport minors to engage in illegal sex acts. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in June 2022.

Epstein died in prison in August 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.

When the Epstein scandal came to public attention years later, Radziwill distanced herself from Maxwell and has since spoken of the disturbing realization that someone she knew socially was involved in such serious crimes.

Radziwill said he tried to move forward after his name was mentioned in the Epstein files. (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

His comments to The New York Times echo similar statements he has made previously; here he described his relationship with Maxwell as an example of how proximity to high-profile social circles can lead to unexpected and, in hindsight, problematic connections.

The release of documents related to Epstein ensnared a wide range of public figures, from politicians to celebrities; Most of them emphasized that their names being included in the files did not mean involvement in crime. Legal experts have similarly warned that documents often reflect loose relationships, such as being listed in an address book or mentioned in correspondence.

DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison. (Mathieu Polak/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

Still, the renewed attention has forced those named, including Radziwill, to publicly reckon with past relationships that now carry a different weight.

Today, Radziwill told the NYT that he is focused on moving forward even as his name has re-entered the public spotlight in connection with one of the most notorious scandals in recent memory.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Radizwill explained that she sought solace from the advice of her mother-in-law, Lee Radziwill, who passed away in 2019.

“He knew that being very, very public and very famous as he was, people would misunderstand and you had to accept that,” Radziwill said. “And for a long, long time, that was okay with me, but now I am. It’s a really hard place to get to, but once you get there, it’s like a peaceful feeling. You’re going to be misunderstood, and that’s okay.”