The cocktail-sipping bikini-clad women in THAT Stephen Hawking photo are unmasked – as truth of how it appeared in Epstein files is revealed

The truth behind the mysterious photo of Professor Stephen Hawking with two women in bikinis, found in the Epstein files, can be revealed for the first time.

The shocking image of the brilliant physicist on a sun lounger, sipping cocktails from two unidentified women, was given no context in the US Department of Justice’s files on pedophile financier Epstein, prompting online speculation about the circumstances of the situation.

However, the Daily Mail has found the original, unredacted copy of the photo, which shows that it was taken at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando, Florida, in 2008 and that the two women are Prof Hawking’s full-time carers Monica Guy and Nicola O’Brien.

Exactly how he got access to the Epstein Files remains unexplained.

Ms Guy used the photo to illustrate an article praising the provision for wheelchair access in US hotels, based on her experience of traveling with Prof Hawking, who was nearly paralyzed by motor neurone disease (ALS) until his death in 2018, aged 76.

It was previously believed that the photo was taken at the Ritz-Carlton on the Caribbean island of St Thomas in 2006, when Prof Hawking was giving a talk on Quantum Cosmology while attending an Epstein-funded science symposium.

A representative from the Hawking family’s estate confirmed that the women were his full-time caregivers.

Ms Guy, now a public relations executive, wrote of her travels with the famous astrophysicist: ‘The US leads the way in terms of accessible hotels. That’s my conclusion after several years of hanging around with renowned disabled scientist Stephen Hawking.

The two women were Professor Stephen Hawking’s full-time carers, Monica Guy and Nicola O’Brien.

‘We’ve stayed in the best and not-so-best hotels in cities all over the world. Being disabled is absolutely normal in the USA, and a disabled person has an unquestionable right to access the same hotel facilities as everyone else.’

He acknowledged that due to his celebrity status, hosts often offered Prof Hawking the best hotels and his name ‘opened doors’.

He added: ‘And importantly, Stephen Hawking is confident enough to stand up for his rights; If he had a bad experience, he doesn’t hesitate to report it to management.

‘After a night of electrical problems and unnecessary hassle at the Randolph in Oxford, he publicly complained and refused to pay for the night.’

A spokesperson for the Hawking Family told the Daily Mail: ‘Professor Hawking made some of the greatest contributions to physics in the 20th century and was also the longest survivor of motor neurone disease, a debilitating condition that left him dependent on a ventilator, a voice synthesizer, a wheelchair and 24-hour medical care.

‘Any insinuation that he engaged in inappropriate behavior is false and grossly exaggerated.’

Hawking was among 21 internationally renowned scientists who attended a conference hosted by Epstein in March 2006, five months before the financier was first accused of soliciting prostitution.

The conference was held at the $1,600-a-night five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel on the island of St. Thomas, near Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James.

An article on the blog of the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation included details about the conference called The Energy of Non-Zero Empty Space.

It said guests could ‘meet, discuss, relax on the beach and take a tour of the nearby private island retreat of science philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein, who funded the event’.

Hawking during the 2006 Non-Zero Energy of Free Space conference hosted by Epstein in the US Virgin Islands

During the 2006 trip, Hawking was given a submarine tour of the seabed around Epstein’s island. Pedophile modified submarine especially for Hawking

Guests appear to be splitting their time between St Thomas and Little Saint James, hosted by Epstein himself.

In photos that emerged in 2015, Hawking was seen going to a barbecue in a wheelchair.

He was then given a submarine tour of the seabed around Epstein island.

The pedophile had modified the ship specifically for Hawking, who had never been underwater before.

According to emails sent by the financier, Hawking had previously been accused by Epstein’s latest victim, Virginia Giuffre, of ‘participating in an underage sex party’ on the island.

According to court documents made public two years ago, Epstein angrily denied the allegation and appears to have instructed his partner Ghislaine Maxwell to offer money to Giuffre’s friends if they could help debunk the allegations against Hawking.

FBI officials also received another false tip claiming that Epstein had visited an “all-male gay club” with Hawking in 2011, according to files released by the Justice Department.

The tipster described the venue as a ‘bathhouse’ and told authorities in 2019 that he had ‘watched the news lately and seen the prominent men.’ [who] We were also in the club in 2011.

‘He said he had no idea who they were at the time. The report stated that a lot of behavior took place there.

‘Epstein and Steven Hawking said [sic] He had some Russian connections there as well. ‘He recognized them from the news.’

The report describes how the caller “burst into tears” when he told her “it wasn’t just girls who were affected by Epstein.”

A search of documents released by the Justice Department revealed that Hawking was referenced at least 250 times in the Epstein files. There is no suggestion that Hawking’s appearance in the documents indicates any wrongdoing.

Epstein was said to have surrounded himself with leading scientists and called himself a ‘science philanthropist’.

He made large donations to scientific causes and at one stage allegedly gave up to $20 million a year to fund scientists.

Following his arrest, many scientists and researchers remained distant.

Astrophysicist Hawking is applauded by flight crew members after completing a zero-gravity flight in Cape Canaveral, Florida, while being supported by his caregiver, Monica Guy, on the tarmac at the Kennedy Space Center.

The New York Times reported that Epstein focused on “transhumanism” – the belief that the human species can be deliberately advanced through technological breakthroughs such as genetic engineering and artificial intelligence.

Epstein reportedly sometimes steered conversations toward how the human race could be genetically improved.

He reportedly told people that he wanted to impregnate as many women as possible to distribute their genes.

The Justice Department has released more than 3.5 million documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Authorities have identified more than six million documents related to the pedophile but will not release the entire cache.