And while her crimes and relationship with Epstein were chronicled in court, many don’t realise that she was never married to Epstein – however, she is believed to be married.
So who is her husband, and why did her nuptials take place in secret? We take a closer look …
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The mystery husband
When Maxwell was arrested in 2020, she revealed in a bail application that she is married. Although she did not reveal her partner’s identity, it has been widely reported that her husband is Scott Borgerson and that they were married in 2016. As Borgerson is believed to be 44, that makes Maxwell 16 years older than her husband. There has never been official record found of their marriage, nor any official documentation proving they are married.
In 2019, Borgerson told New York Post he was not “dating” Maxwell and did not want to comment on their relationship. Borgerson’s name, as well as others used in support of the bail application, were redacted and never made public, according to Insider. Maxwell’s brother Ian told Insider that the family was not aware she was married, but not surprised either. Despite the denials, Borgerson remains the man believed to be her partner.
How did they meet?
According to Bustle, the couple first met when they were speaking at an event linked to ocean preservation in Reykjavík in 2013. New York Post reports that Borgerson was married at the time, but was so taken with Maxwell he broke up his marriage to be with her. The tabloid adds that he was “captivated” by the powerful circles Maxwell ran in.The UK’s Daily Mail published the first known picture of the couple together during the conference in Reykjavík. It is one of the only known images of the two to be published publicly.
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No show in court
Although his name was not revealed in court papers, according to The Telegraph, Borgerson did offer to put up a US$22.5 million bond to secure Maxwell’s pre-trial release. His name was never mentioned during court proceedings and Borgerson did not show up to the trial held in Manhattan. Several reports have since credited Borgerson as having moved on and claims he is seeing someone else.
The money
The Times reported that soon after getting married, Maxwell transferred all of her assets to her husband in an attempt to protect her wealth from claims by the victims in the Epstein case. According to Tatler, Maxwell’s net worth was an estimated US$20.2 million in 2015. It’s believed most of her wealth came from the sale of a New York town house which was reportedly gifted to her by Epstein.
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The attempted “divorce of convenience”
According to The Guardian, Maxwell’s marriage was a central argument in her bail appeals. Her lawyers told the court that she and her spouse had discussed a “divorce of convenience” because she did not want him to attract negative publicity because of her. She later said the talk of divorce was nothing more than a ruse and was only mentioned because she wanted to do everything to protect her husband. She claimed she was not a flight risk because she would not leave her husband.
The Trump connection
In Epstein’s Shadow: Ghislaine Maxwell, a documentary about Maxwell and her relationship with Epstein, author Nina Burleigh says Borgerson was connected to the Trump administration.Borgerson is a tech entrepreneur and stepped down as the CEO of CargoMetrics, his maritime innovation company, in October 2020. He founded the shipping data analytics company in 2010, and reportedly stepped down because of the interest in his relationship with Maxwell.
According to a profile on Institution Investor, Borgerson considered becoming a priest at one point, but later decided to join the US Coast Guard Academy. After leaving the coastguard, he became a businessman.
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