Ghislaine Maxwell’s ex-boyfriend says he paid her $7.2M after their breakup

JAMES HILL, LAUREN PELLER, JOHN PARKINSON and PETER CHARALAMBOUSThu, May 14, 2026 at 3:37 AM UTC

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Ghislaine Maxwell’s ex-boyfriend says he paid her $7.2M after their breakup

Ghislaine Maxwell's billionaire ex-boyfriend distanced himself from both her and Jeffrey Epstein during his interview with the House Oversight Committee, telling lawmakers he "never would've spent six years in a romantic relationship with her" had he been aware of her crimes, according to a transcript of his testimony released by the committee.

Gateway Computer cofounder Ted Waitt told lawmakers during a closed-door appearance before the committee on April 30 that he regrets not digging into Epstein's 2008 guilty plea, claiming that Maxwell downplayed the seriousness of his crimes.

"I can say unequivocally that if I knew then what I know now about Ms. Maxwell, I never would've befriended her or allowed her to be around my four children," he said, according to the transcript.

Graeme Sloan/Getty Images - PHOTO: Gateway Computer Co-Founder Ted Waitt Appears On Capitol Hill For Closed-Door Testimony Over Epstein Connections

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Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges in connection with Epstein and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.

Waitt offered few new details that alter the public understanding of Epstein and Maxwell's crimes, though he seemingly contradicted some of the testimony that Maxwell provided to then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in nine hours of interviews over two days last year.

During her interview with Blanche, Maxwell claimed that her relationship with Wait ended after he was blackmailed for $10 million in exchange for dropping mention of Maxwell from a series of civil lawsuits filed against Epstein.

Waitt said that never happened.

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He also told lawmakers that he gave Maxwell $7.2 million after their breakup because "wanted to help her continue to live her life at the level she was accustomed to."

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"I think someone on my staff might have said she was very unhappy with the breakup and she was not in a good state," he said, according to the transcript. "She was quite devastated by the breakup so at that point, I didn't want to get directly involved and I had my team handle the final details. I recall her not being happy with the amount, wanting more, but that doesn't matter."

He added, "I just felt it was the right thing to do, not uncommon for people in my situation to do that. We lived a fairly extravagant life. In hindsight, if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have done it."

Waitt told lawmakers he met Maxwell during a large dinner in Hong Kong with Bill Clinton, Epstein, and others.

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According to Waitt, he started seriously dating Maxwell in 2004 and their relationship ended after six years. He said that he rarely interacted with Epstein -- less than five times -- and that Maxwell claimed he was a "brilliant investor, money manager."

"He did seem to have significant influence over her, she did always kind of look up to him, and I was not comfortable with that," Waitt said.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”