EXCLUSIVE: ‘I never had ANY romantic relationship with Epstein’: Glamorous Norwegian heiress Celina Midelfart – named as paedophile’s secret mistress during Ghislaine Maxwell trial – says they were just business partners as she also denies Trump fling

• Ghislaine Maxwell’s former personal assistant told her child abuse trial in New York that Jeffrey Epstein cheated on Maxwell with Celina Midelfart, a Norwegian heiress, when they first got together 
• Midelfart was the heir to her family’s cosmetics fortune and flight logs show she took at least 13 trips on Epstein’s private jet
• Maxwell’s ex-PA claimed the pedophile was seeing Ms Midelfart in the mid 1990s, around the same time he was dating other women, and he even sent flowers to the businesswoman from his office.
• But glamorous socialite Ms Midelfart, now 48, hit back at the claims that she was ever Epstein’s lover to insist they were in business together and have had no contact for 25 years

The glamorous Scandinavian heiress named as Jeffrey Epstein’s lover while he was also in a relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell has hit back to deny claims that she was in a sexual relationship with the paedophile financier, MailOnline can reveal.

Maxwell’s high-profile trial in New York heard sensational claims that Epstein was seeing stunning Celina Midelfart in the mid 1990s around the same time he was dating Maxwell and other women.

The claims were made by Maxwell’s former personal assistant during the trial in which she was found guilty of recruiting and trafficking young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Ms Midelfart, 48 has been hiding since she was named in court as Maxwell’s love rival.

But in a statement issued through her lawyer to MailOnline, she vehemently insisted that her relationship with Epstein was a brief, professional one that finished in 1997.

The statement said: ‘Celina Midelfart has never dated, nor had any romantic relationship, with Epstein.

‘The true facts are as follows: Around 25 years ago Celina Midelfart had plans to invest some funds in the US markets.

‘In that respect a Norwegian financial adviser, who had a business relationship with Epstein, advised Celina Midelfart to talk with Epstein.

‘At that point in time Epstein was a financial adviser at the renowned American brokerage house, Bear Sterns.’ 

Celina Midelfart (pictured) was named as Jeffrey Epstein’s lover while he was dating Ghislaine Maxwell

But Ms Midelfart, now 48, has denied the claims, insisting that they only shared business interests

Ghislaine Maxwell (left) began dating Epstein (right) in the mid-1990s, Maxwell’s personal assistant told her trial 

The statement continued: ‘For a short period of time Celina Midelfart had some funds placed in the US markets by Bear Stearns, represented by Epstein.

‘Celina Midelfart have not had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein after 1997.

‘It is very hard to understand how this short business-relation from around 25 years ago, has any relevance whatsoever to the very serious criminal charges against Maxwell.’

Ms Midelfart, who took over running Midelfart AS at the age of 22 in 1995, married entrepreneur Tor Olav Troim in 2010 and moved to Belgravia, London.

While she tends to keep a low-profile, she has remained close to royalty in recent years – and was among those who attended Princess Madeline’s wedding to Christopher O’Neill in 2013.

A member of the Midelfart family, Celina is the granddaughter of Ole Midelfart, the founder of the Midelfart cosmetics company. He founded the company in 1923.

Epstein appears with his arm around Ghislaine as he takes a phone call in this evidence photo 

Her father was businessman Finn-Erik Midelfart, while her mother is socialite Kristin Hermine Muhle.

She has also been romantically linked to British pop-star Robbie Williams and Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne.

Previous reports had also claimed that Ms Midelfart had been in a relationship with Donald Trump before he dropped her for his eventual third wife Melania.

But these reports were also denied in the statement issued to MailOnline.

It said: ‘Celina Midelfart has never dated, nor had any romantic relationship, with Donald Trump.

‘The correct facts are that Celina Midelfart rented an apartment in the Trump Tower during her studies in New York in 1996 to 1998.

‘In this period of time she got to know Trump as a friend and she accompanied Trump to many, mostly work related, events.’

The statement added: ‘Celina Midelfart have [sic] no other relation to Robbie Williams than having seen him perform once, at a concert in Oslo, Valhall, in 2003.’

While she tends to keep a low-profile, she has remained close to royalty in recent years – and was among those who attended Princess Madeline’s wedding to Christopher O’Neill in 2013.

A member of the Midelfart family, Celina is the granddaughter of Ole Midelfart, the founder of the Midelfart cosmetics company. He founded the company in 1923.

Her father was businessman Finn-Erik Midelfart, while her mother is socialite Kristin Hermine Muhle.

While she enjoyed a close relationship with her father, she is said to have said of her mother she is ‘almost more fond of animals than humans’.

Having grown up in Oslo, Celina enrolled in London School of Economics in 1994, where she studied economics with management. 

She later transferred to New York University Stern School of Business, with Bachelor of Science summa cum laude in Finance in 1998.

In 1995, her father died and she took over the running of the family’s health and beauty care business, Midelfart AS.

In a 2005 documentary, her ex-boyfriend Petter Stordalen explained they had a close bond before his death, saying: ‘She remembers her father as if it were yesterday.

‘If you talk to Celina about her father, it is a vivid picture that is presented.’

Meanwhile her mother remarried to Nicholas Paus – who was a real estate investor, and a member of the respected Paus family in Norway.

Ms Midelfart also used her statement to deny ever having a fling with Donald Trump, as had been previously reported

It was during this period that Celina is said to have been the woman that Donald Trump dumped to date Melania Trump, his third wife.

The former president supposedly ditched her in 1998, after she had been dating Epstein.

Trump and Celina were supposedly on a night out at the Kit Kat Club in New York when he saw Melania and asked her for her number.

The former First Lady refused but Trump persisted and she eventually agreed.

Despite their history, in a 2008 interview, Trump spoke fondly of Celina, calling her a ‘wonderful person and businesswoman.’

She later said she was following Trump’s run in the 2016 with ‘excitement and wonder like many others.’

Her other boyfriends include pop star Robbie Williams and Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway.

Celina became the company’s chairman in 2000, later selling the operative business to Procter & Gamble and Midsona AB, respectively.

She continued to work in business, and became Executive Chairman and 100 per cent owner of the investment company Midelfart Capital AS, which she remains to this day.

Meanwhile she is also a large shareholder and board member of the Swedish consumer finance bank Avida AB.

While she tends to keep a low-profile, she is known to be a keen tennis player and even attended Princess Madeline’s wedding to Christopher O’Neill in 2013

Epstein and Celina posed together at a reception at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, March 19, 1995

In the same 2005 documentary, her ex-boyfriend Stordalen said that ‘the focus on Celina has gone completely wrong’.

He explained: ‘It’s more about what she looks like and what she’s wearing, than what she says.

‘And a lot of good and thoughtful things come from her. She is a reflective 30-year-old.

‘What you see as you get to know her, is that she is a very humorous, sporty and fun girl with a fantastic mood, he continues.’

She began dating Norwegian business tycoon, Tor Olav Troim in 2005, before the pair announced their engagement in 2009.

In 2011, Celina gave birth to the couple’s only child so far, a son.

The couple have since moved from their native country to England, and are now living in London.

A 2017 article claimed Trøim and Celina earned over a billion kroner in just two years from insurance, gas and rig businesses. 

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