Where is Karen McDougal now? 'Second woman' in Trump hush money case lives under the radar
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former president Donald Trump has been formally charged with making hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Meanwhile, two lesser-known allegations involve indirect payments to a doorman and Playboy model Karen McDougal to buy their silence about his alleged extramarital encounters.
In 2006, McDougal purportedly had a 10-month relationship with Trump, and Trump's doorman Dino Sajudin claimed to be aware of a love child the businessman had with a former housekeeper. The National Enquirer, which supports Trump, paid out McDougal and Sajudin. In response, Sajudin's ex-wife apparently referred to him as a "serial liar" and the former housekeeper, who was being questioned, denied ever having an affair with Trump, as per reports.
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Who is Karen McDougal?
The Merrillville, Indiana native, 52, began studying ballet as a young child before switching to cheerleading in high school. She referred to herself as a "wholesome little Karen" and claimed to go by the moniker "Barbie" in an interview with Playboy. Prior to turning into a model in the 1990s and going on to star in music videos, TV shows, and films, she was a pre-kindergarten teacher, as reported by Independent.
Where is Karen McDougal now?
While the investigations into Trump’s alleged hush money have been dominating headlines, McDougal has reportedly been living a very private life in Arizona, according to Inside Edition. She's an animal lover and recently posted several pictures of herself posing in lingerie and holding up an image of Wonder Woman that says "I have the power to change the world."
McDougal is also an outspoken critic of breast implants. She originally decided to get breast implants in 1996 to "boost her self-esteem." But seven years after getting her implants, McDougal started having thyroid and adrenal problems, developed severe allergies, and began getting sick constantly.
“I would get sick every couple of months and be sick for six to eight weeks at a time,” McDougal told PEOPLE in 2017. “It just never went away.”
While it is not clear if McDougal testified before the grand jury, but David Pecker, the National Enquirer's owner who allegedly paid to keep her quiet, was recently seen leaving the courthouse where the grand jury handed down its indictment against Trump.
How Karen McDougal was given $150K for rights to story of affair with Trump?
The National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc, paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to the tale of her romance with Trump in 2016. The Enquirer purchased the rights but never published the story, a tactic known as "catch and kill." Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc, later acknowledged this was done to support the Trump campaign.
McDougal disclosed to The New Yorker and other publications that she reportedly had an affair with Trump and was then bought off by the publication to be quiet. Since then, she has also contributed to health and fitness essays and on the cover of AMI publication Muscle and Fitness Hers, as reported by Independent.
The National Enquirer's owner and the model reached a legal settlement in 2018, restoring the model's ability to share her life story. AMI disputes McDougal's claims that she was pressured to sign her initial contract under false pretenses.
Since Trump's indictment, McDougal has kept quiet about the accusations against him. The affair allegedly took place in 2006, long before Donald Trump entered politics and while he was still married to Melania. She had just given birth to their son Barron at the time.
American Media Corp paid Sajudin $30K
The same year, American Media Corp paid Sajudin $30,000 for the rights to his story but stipulated in the contract that he would be subject to a $1 million fine if he shared the material with anyone else. The story was then suppressed, as reported by Daily Mail.