Donald Trump's Relationship With Former Apprentice Contestant Jennifer Murphy, Explained

This article contains mentions of sexual assault.

Before Donald Trump got into politics, he was perhaps best known as the host of "The Apprentice" and its spin-off "Celebrity Apprentice." The reality show first aired in 2004, making Trump a household name, and some have said that it helped him become president. Millions of people tuned in to watch and find out who would be on the receiving end of Trump's catchphrase, "You're fired." It's what contestant Jennifer Murphy heard on Season 4, Episode 6, even though she was reportedly one of Trump's favorite contestants. It turns out that the two of them had more to their relationship than what we saw on-screen.

The year before Murphy was on "The Apprentice," she was crowned "Miss Oregon."  She was competing as "Miss Oregon" in the "Miss USA" pageant when she first met Trump, who owned the Miss Universe organization for years. The two talked about her being on his reality show, with Trump giving her his business card and asking her to get in touch.

Jennifer Murphy making it onto "The Apprentice" was a somewhat controversial decision, and it all seemed to rely on how much Donald Trump liked her look. In the book "Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass," author Ramin Setoodeh revealed that Burnett didn't want her on the show but that Trump "thought that Murphy would make good TV, equating her looks with ratings."

Setoodeh interviewed Randal Pinkett, a Season 4 contestant, for the book. Pinkett said that he heard Trump talking about how attractive he thought Murphy was and how much he wanted to sleep with her. Murphy also talked about how the show cut some of the moments when Trump was flirting with her on set.

Despite firing her on the show, Trump told Murphy that he still wanted to employ her, and it was after a job interview with him that Murphy said Trump kissed her unexpectedly. "I was thinking, 'Oh, he's going to hug me,' but when he pulled my face in and gave me a smooch. I was like, 'Oh-kay,'" Murphy told Grazia. "I didn't know how to act. I was just a little taken aback and probably turned red." She didn't end up taking a job with the Trump organization, though apparently she was offered some, and she seemed unbothered by his attraction to her.

Donald Trump and Jennifer Murphy stayed friends even after Murphy turned down the job. Donald attended Murphy's 2006 wedding to Dr. Bill Dorfman, a top Hollywood dentist who worked on "Extreme Makeover." It was held at the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles, where Trump gave Murphy a 20% discount to host the event.

In 2016, after the Access Hollywood tape was leaked in which Donald Trump was caught on tape saying he could "grab [women] by the p****," Murphy went on CNN to talk about Trump and the time that he'd kissed her without her consent — it happened the same year that Donald made the Access Hollywood comments and the same year he married Melania Trump. Murphy didn't seem to think there was a problem with Donald kissing her. "I was a little surprised, but I wasn't offended, and I could have turned away," she said. Not long after that interview, Murphy made a parody video of Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" that she called "I was kissed by Trump... and I liked it."

Their relationship hit a bit of a rough patch when Murphy seemed to side with Rosie O'Donnell during a time when Trump was publicly disparaging the comedian. Murphy claimed Trump referred to her comments about him as "disloyal." Though apparently, they have been able to put that behind them, and Murphy seems excited about Trump's 2024 bid for the presidency.