Ghislaine Maxwell has said she “feels bad” for Prince Andrew and accepts they can no longer be friends, in her first interview from prison since being convicted of sex trafficking.
Speaking to CBS and Paramount Plus, the 60-year-old said she understood why the Duke of York‘s lawyers had to downplay their friendship.
“I feel so bad for him,” The Sun reports she told the interviewer. “I follow what’s happening to him.”
Following a trial earlier this year, Maxwell was found guilty of luring young girls to massage rooms for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest, between 1994 and 2004.
Speaking for the first time from prison, she said: “I accept that this friendship could not survive my conviction.
“He is paying such a price for the association. I consider him a dear friend. I care about him.”
The former socialite went on to claim the now infamous photo of her, Andrew and a young Virginia Giuffre (above) is not genuine.
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Prince Andrew settled a civil sex assault claim brought by Ms Giuffre earlier this year. He has always denied any wrongdoing.
Speaking about billionaire paedophile Epstein, Maxwell described their relationship as the “greatest regret of my life” and said she would “avoid meeting him” if she could turn back the clock.
But she added that “many women can identify” with falling in love with someone they regretted.
Maxwell, who was moved to a low security prison in Florida in July and is appealing her conviction, spoke to the media on two occasions, according to The Sun.
The first interview was carried out at the high security detention centre in New York where she was held after her arrest, and the second in Florida.
Prison documents confirmed she was moved to FCI Tallahassee this summer.
According to a prison consulting firm, inmates are able to do yoga, stage talent shows and watch films.
Relationship with Bill Clinton was ‘special’
Maxwell also spoke about her trial during the interview, saying it had turned her into a “wicked witch Disney character”.
She also described her friendship with former US president Bill Clinton as “special”, adding they had “lots in common”.
Maxwell said that like with Prince Andrew, she accepts they can no longer be associated. But she said she felt “honoured” when former President Donald Trump wished her well ahead of her trial.
Describing how they “mingled in the same circles”, she said his words were a “big boost”.
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison following her arrest in 2020.
Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.
The full interview will be broadcast on ITV, CBS News and Paramount Plus at 6.30pm on 17 October
