The Supermodel Romance Rumors Donald Trump Reportedly Started About Himself

On June 26, 1991, the New York Post sent shockwaves through the entertainment world with its first-page story claiming Donald Trump left his then-girlfriend Marla Maples for model Carla Bruni. This was huge, considering the businessman allegedly cheated on and divorced his ex-wife, Ivana Trump, for Maples. Donald and Bruni soon became the talk of the tabloids, but little did they know that the real drama was only just beginning.

On a quest for the truth, a reporter from People, Sue Carswell, reached out to the Trump Organization to speak to Donald, but was unsuccessful. Instead, she got a quick call back from a man who introduced himself as Donald's publicist — enter John Miller. He verified that Marla was old news and Donald now had "somebody else named Carla." Miller also fervently hyped up his boss, stating Donald was "starting to do tremendously well financially" and was doing "as well as anybody there is" (via The Washington Post).

If you're starting to smell a rat, you're on track. Carswell noted that Miller sounded too familiar and seemed desperate to paint Donald as an irresistible Casanova. He said Donald left Maples because she wanted a commitment and that the businessman wouldn't tie himself to her or even Carla just yet, claiming, "I mean, he's living with Marla and he's got three other girlfriends." Miller also added a bombshell of his own: "[Carla Bruni] dropped Mick Jagger for Donald."

It didn't take Sue Carswell long to realize Donald Trump was apparently posing as a publicist to boast about all the women who liked him. She played a recording of the conversation for Marla Maples, who confirmed it was Trump and began crying. Later, according to Carswell, Trump owned up and called it a "joke gone awry," per People. He then reportedly took her, another reporter, and Maples out to apologize for his antics. As you likely already know, Trump and Maples eventually got married from 1993 to 1999.

This story was mostly forgotten until 2016 when an audio of "John Miller" aka Trump's alleged phone call with Carswell was leaked. Although forensic audio specialist Thomas Owens told CNN he could "conclude with a fair degree of scientific certainty" that it was Trump, the politician denied it. He also distanced himself from previous admissions, even though other reporters claimed he was notorious for such calls. 

Linda Stasi, a columnist with the New York Daily News, told CBS, "Everybody in the news business knows this goes on with Donald, he's been doing it for 30 years. It's like, you'll be in a newsroom and say, 'Oh it's fake Donald Trump again!'" Another investigative reporter, Jonathan Greenberg, claimed in The Washington Post that Trump, posing as John Barron, called him back in 1984. This time, Barron was an "official" who gave false information about Trump's wealth and inflated his financial status — where have we heard that before?

Back in 1991, Carla Bruni was super quick to refute any rumors of a romance between her and Donald Trump. She told the Daily Mail (via The Spokesman-Review) that Trump was a "lunatic" and she was "deeply embarrassed by it all." Bruni also mentioned she had only seen the businessman once, which is plausible considering John Miller told Sue Carswell that he didn't know Carla Bruni that well, saying, "I saw her once quickly and she's beautiful."

In 2017, Carla Bruni, who's married to France's former President Nicolas Sarkozy, reluctantly spoke about the Trump rumors to the Daily Beast. "Actually, the whole situation was very vague and just did not exist. So I was very surprised when [Trump] went to the press," she said.

To worsen Trump's case, no person named "John Miller" or "John Barron" has publicly spoken up to refute the allegations. This is odd since the publicist claimed to have an extensive work history. The final strike against the former president's case came when The Washington Post revealed in 2016 that Trump told a judge in 1990 that he'd used the name "John Barron" in business dealings. One could argue John Miller didn't actually start the rumors. However, given that the New York Post's source isn't publicly known, who's to say Miller isn't behind that story too?