Playboy model Karen McDougal dishes on alleged Trump affair

Karen McDougal claims to have had a ten-month affair with the former US president while wife Melania was pregnant with their son. Now she’s sharing intimate details of their relationship.

Everyone has heard about Stormy Daniels, the former porn star who claimed she had sex with Donald Trump in a hotel room after meeting him at a charity golf tournament in 2006.

But far fewer have heard of Karen McDougal, a 52-year-old former Playboy bunny who claims to have had a 10-month affair with the real estate baron around the same time.

Ms Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she accepted USD $130,000 (AUD $195,000) in hush money in the lead-up to the 2016 US election.

The businessman is currently facing 34 charges relating to business fraud at New York criminal court over said payments and has entered a plea of not guilty.

Ms McDougal’s story was also buried in the lead up to Mr Trump’s campaign, purchased for almost USD $150,000 (AUD $225,000). Now she’s sharing the details publicly.

Stormy Daniels, left, and Karen McDougal, right, have vastly different tales. Pictures: AFP/Getty Images

‘He was in love with me’

According to Ms McDougal, the two relationships were markedly different.

The former was undeniably salacious. Ms Daniels is famously quoted as saying, “it may have been the least impressive sex I’d ever had” and that it was “the worst 90 seconds of my life”, while Mr Trump attacked her credibility and spewed rancorous comments all over the internet.

The latter, however, claimed their relationship was more than a lust-fuelled tryst, even though Mr Trump allegedly tried to pay her the first time they had sex in a Los Angeles hotel.

“I was in love with him. He was in love with me,” Ms McDougal told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview. “I know that because he told me all the time.”

She said she chose to end the relationship, not Mr Trump, leaving him to pursue a relationship with Hollywood actor Bruce Willis, with whom she was associated for six months.

In other words, she doesn’t have an axe to grind.

“Bruce and I were talking on the phone a lot already so that made it easier to end it. Why would I stay with a married man when Bruce was a nice guy, and single?”

Karen McDougal was a Playboy bunny and model. Picture: Hers

She claims she dated Donald Trump for 10 months. Picture: AFP

‘I cried all the way home’

Ms McDougal also indicated that while the former commander-in-chief has denied claims levelled at him by many women over the years, he’s been tight-lipped about her.

“His people have denied it, but he’s never denied it,” she told the Daily Mail’s Barbara McMahon. “A reporter asked him, ‘Did you have an affair with Karen McDougal?’ and all he said was, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’ He knows I’m telling the truth.”

She said the pair met at a Playboy Mansion pool party in 2006 and that she was wearing a see-through dress over her bathers, which immediately attracted his attention.

The businessman had been married to Melania Trump for less than two years at the time and Mrs Trump had just given birth to their son Barron, who is now 17.

But Ms McDougal said “He followed me around like a puppy dog”.

Mr Trump directed his bodyguard to get Ms McDougal’s number and they went on a date a few days later at a Beverly Hills hotel, where she was escorted through the back door.

She said they ate room service steak and mashed potatoes, sitting at a little table in the kitchen with the TV on in the background, before things began to heat up.

Once the deed was done, said she said she was horrified by the offer of money.

“I was dressed and ready to go, and I saw this stack of cash in his hand,” she claimed. “He knew he’d made a mistake when he saw how upset I was. He told me I was really special.”

However, she said she “cried all the way home”.

Writer E. Jean Carroll defeated Donald Trump in court on 9 May 2023. Picture: AFP

‘I was uncomfortable’

They reconciled their differences and began a consensual relationship.

That’s a critical detail considering more than 25 women have accused Mr Trump of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment since the 1970s.

Just last week, E. Jean Carroll, a columnist who last week won USD $5 million (AUD $7.5 million) in damages after a jury found Trump guilty of sexually abusing her in a department store changing room in the 1990s and of defaming her in 2022.

Ms McDougal said their first outing was to an event in Lake Tahoe in July 2006, the same event where Stormy Daniels claims to have met Mr Trump. Ms McDougal said if it happened, it must have been before she arrived or after she left, because she was with him all the time.

The pair allegedly met at least five times a month over the course of their relationship, but she said the encounters became increasingly awkward with time. For example, when she was given a tour of the Trump Tower penthouse he shared with his wife.

“It was just a tour – nothing happened, in there,” she said. “I was desperate to get out because I was in another woman’s house. I was uncomfortable.”

Donald Trump and Melania Trump announced a third White House run in November. Picture: AFP

‘He doesn’t like being rejected’

Whenever they met, Ms McDougal said she made her own travel arrangements before Mr Trump reimbursed her in cash to ensure there was no paper trail. And while he always talked about other girls, she believed she was the only mistress at that time.

However, her guilt became too much when she met three of his children - Eric, Donald Junior, and Ivanka - and she broke up with him over the phone.

“My mother didn’t like us being together and I used that as the excuse. He said, ‘What? That old hag?’ I was angry. I told him that’s my mother and don’t disrespect her.”

As it happens, Ms McDougal’s mother is only six days older than Mr Trump.

Unsurprisingly, the call ended on bad terms.

“He doesn’t like being rejected, but he didn’t try to persuade me to come back.”

Karen McDougal is prepared to be called as a witness in court. Pictures: AFP/Getty Images

‘Of course I’d co-operate’

While they were together, Mr Trump mad an off-hand comment about running for president, but Ms McDougal said she didn’t think he was serious about it.

She was shocked when her former lover won the Republication nomination and equally taken off-guard by his behaviour, including when he made fun of a disabled journalist and when Access Hollywood’s infamous “grab ‘em by the pussy” tape emerged in 2017.

“He can be crass and vulgar but when he has his kind moments, it’s lovely to see,” she said. “He needs to have more compassion for people in general – a lot more,’

Mr Trump is expected to face trial over the business fraud charges next year. Ms McDougal is uncertain if she will be required to participate, but she is prepared to appear in court.

“If I was subpoenaed as a witness, of course I’d co-operate.”

Originally published as Playboy model Karen McDougal dishes on alleged Trump affair