CNN
- Former Playboy model Karen McDougal described a sexual affair she said she had with Donald Trump in 2006.
- She apologized for the alleged affair, which she said took place shortly after Trump's youngest son, Barron, was born.
- McDougal also claimed Trump tried to pay her after their first sexual encounter.
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal described a 2006 sexual affair she said she had with Donald Trump on Thursday.
McDougal, who claimed the consensual relationship with Trump lasted 10 months, said that she believed both of them were in love at the time. Trump professed his love for McDougal many times, the woman said in her interview on CNN. She said she believed the relationship would "last a long time."
"He's very charming, he's really sweet," McDougal told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. "I was attracted to him. I liked his charisma."
"When I got with him ... there was a real relationship there," McDougal said. "There were real feelings between the two of us, not just myself, and not just him."
But McDougal described her initial sexual encounter as being something that brought her to tears. McDougal said that, after having sex with Trump, he tried to pay her for her time.
"I actually didn't know how to take that," she said.
"I have never been offered money like that before ... I thought, 'Does he think that I'm in this for money,'" McDougal asked. "Or why I'm here tonight? Or is this a normal thing?"
"I said, 'That's not me. I'm not that kind of girl,'" McDougal continued.
Trump replied back to her by saying she was "really special," according to McDougal.
McDougal said the incident brought her to tears: "It really hurt me. He obviously assumed that that's the kind of girl I was. I felt terrible about myself."
She says, recalling the alleged affair, she wishes it never happened: "When I look back, where I was back then, I know it's wrong," she said. "I'm really sorry for that. I know it's the wrong thing to do. But back in those days ... I was a different girl, I had fun, I was in the Playboy scene, I was just enjoying life as much as I could."
"I had a lot of guilt, but I still continued," McDougal said.
Other claims McDougal made during the interview:
- Trump would reimburse her for her trips to see him at various golf courses. McDougal assumed it was because he wanted to avoid a paper trail. They reportedly met at least five times a month.
- Trump had initially asked for her number and would call her often. The two would not discuss Melania, Trump's third wife, or their son, Barron.
- McDougal kept a journal and wrote down Trump's initials on days that they were together. She claims it was done to mask his identity in case the journal was discovered.
- At one point, Trump gave a tour of one of his apartments where Melania allegedly stayed. McDougal described the incident as extremely uncomfortable.
- Trump did not use protection when they had sex.
- She said she voted for Trump in the 2016 US election.
- McDougal's friends and family knew about the relationship. Trump also appeared unconcerned about other people knowing about their encounters, according to McDougal: "He wasn't afraid to hide it at all," she said.
- McDougal believed Trump may have been having "issues" with Melania, but didn't know for sure.
- McDougal says she was the one who ended her relationship with Trump.
On Tuesday, McDougal filed a lawsuit seeking her release her from a gag order she signed that prevented her from disclosing information about the affair. She is the second woman to file a lawsuit to break a gag order on an alleged affair with Trump, after porn star Stormy Daniels filed a similar lawsuit.
Watch portions of McDougal's interview below:
Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is alleging an affair more than a decade ago with Donald Trump. Fighting back tears, she says, "I'm really sorry for that. I know it's a wrong thing to do." https://t.co/qeAjICn2xD pic.twitter.com/49iCJl7TTW
- CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2018
"I voted for Donald. Why would I want to damage him?" Former Playboy model Karen McDougal says her intention in telling her story isn't to damage President Trump https://t.co/fpLyorn15C pic.twitter.com/V6tLUOVDkw
- CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2018
Former Playboy model McDougal on Trump's "Access Hollywood" tape: "Not the man that I knew" https://t.co/xjzeDwyHyi https://t.co/Pf6izrZDjg
- Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) March 23, 2018
"What can you say, except, I'm sorry?" Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who is alleging an affair more than a decade ago with Donald Trump, apologizes to first lady Melania Trump https://t.co/iHhuzgEaMo pic.twitter.com/3FNDGY7CdW
- CNN (@CNN) March 23, 2018