Carole Radziwill showed she isn’t afraid to talk about her name’s appearance in the Epstein files as she prepares to return to The Real Housewives of New York City this month.
On Tuesday, Radziwill addressed her presence in the files during a question and answer session with her fellow RHONY castmates, which was hosted by Andy Cohen.
“I and many, many, many more people have found our names in these files, and it’s not something I shy away from because I think it’s really important to talk about it,” the 63-year-old socialite said in a video of the conversation posted by Vulture. ‘It is important to be transparent.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives from Radziwill and RHONY’s network Bravo for comment but has not yet received a response.
Radziwill broke her silence about her name in the Epstein files in March, when she denied knowing the convicted sex offender, who committed suicide in 2019 at age 66 while in custody awaiting trial.
However, she admitted to once being friends with Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, although Radziwill said she last saw Maxwell at an event in 2009.
On Tuesday, Real Houswives of New York City cast member Carole Radziwill (pictured in New York in February 2025) opened up about her name being in the Epstein files.
Radziwill admitted in March to being friends with Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, but denied knowing Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019; Epstein and Maxwell pictured in 2005
In her RHONY panel on Tuesday, Radziwill claimed to be unaware of Epstein’s sex trafficking or his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor into prostitution.
“Obviously I didn’t know anything, since no one would have known anything 20 years ago, but it’s also hard,” Radziwill said.
She also reiterated her shock at learning of Maxwell’s crimes after she was convicted of child sex trafficking in 2021.
“It’s hard to think that someone you knew so long ago — and even called a friend at one point — was a horrible, horrible person who did horrible things,” Radziwill continued. ‘That was all broadcast, at first I was very nervous. But I think it’s just an opportunity to talk about it.”
She added: “There are real victims and survivors who were brave enough to really stand up to these very, very powerful people. So, you know, the intention is not to be a downer.”
Radziwill makes her highly anticipated return to RHONY for season 16, having previously appeared as the Housewife from seasons five through ten.
She was initially set to rejoin the series as the housewives’ friend, but was later upgraded to the main cast of the rebooted version of the long-running Bravo reality series.
In March, Radziwill spoke about her past friendship with Maxwell, saying the two had only known each other socially.
“I and many, many, many more people found our names in these files, and it’s not something that I’m shying away from because I think it’s really important to talk about it,” the 63-year-old socialite said in a video of the conversation posted by Vulture. ‘It is important to be transparent’; pictured in 2024 in NYC
“Obviously I didn’t know anything, since no one would have known anything 20 years ago, but it’s also hard,” Radziwill said of Epstein’s crimes; Epstein and Maxwell are pictured in a photo released by the US Department of Justice
“It’s hard to imagine that someone you knew so long ago — and even called a friend at one point — was a horrible, horrible person who did horrible things,” said Radziwill, who was pictured with Maxwell in 2007. ‘That was all broadcast, at first I was very nervous. But I just think it’s an opportunity to talk about it.”
She also claimed to never have witnessed Maxwell and Epstein’s crimes and was unaware of the allegations against them during the period when she and Maxwell were friends.
During a conversation with the New York TimesRadziwill said she and Maxwell were friends for “five or six years” in the early 2000s.
Radziwill said nothing about Maxwell’s behavior made her or her friends think anything was wrong with her.
“The thing about her that made it easy for me to spend time with her was that she was very intelligent and well educated,” Radziwill said. “If you lined up 10 women and asked them to pick the woman who was involved in an international sex trafficking ring, it wouldn’t be her.”
Maxwell then photographed the cover of Radziwill’s best-selling 2005 memoir What Remains.
The housewife did admit to seeing Epstein at a party at Maxwell’s home, but she said Maxwell never mentioned Epstein or spoke about him.
“I never knew Jeffrey Epstein,” Radziwill said.
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to entice and transport minors for illegal sex acts, and the following year she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Radziwill was publicly harassed on the street for her ties to the Epstein files in the trailer for the 16th season of The Real Housewives of New York City in July
In the RHONY trailer, Radziwill was harassed in the street because her name was mentioned in the Epstein files while filming a scene with castmate Erin Lichy
In the next scene, Sai De Silva questioned Radziwill about her ties to Epstein and asked the What Remains author if she had ever visited the infamous “Epstein Island.”
Following his 2008 conviction, Epstein was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex. He died by suicide while in jail awaiting trial.
Radziwill faced tense questioning from one of her castmates about her name appearing in the Epstein files in an explosive trailer for The Real Housewives of New York City released in July.
In the RHONY trailer, Radziwill was harassed in the street because her name was mentioned in the Epstein files while filming a scene with castmate Erin Lichy.
You could hear someone off camera shouting, “The Epstein files! She’s the one from the Epstein files!’
Radziwill muttered, “Who is that?” as she looked around, while Lichy stood with her mouth open in complete shock.
In the next scene, Sai De Silva questioned Radziwill about her ties to Epstein and asked the What Remains author if she had ever visited the infamous “Epstein Island.”
“So you’ve never been to this island?” De Silva asked, to which Radziwill quickly replied, “No!” before asking, “Do you think I’m part of an international sex trafficking ring?”
The Daily Mail previously contacted Radziwill for comment.
“So you’ve never been to this island?” De Silva asked, to which Radziwill quickly replied, “No!” before asking, “Do you think I’m part of an international sex trafficking ring?”
Radziwill is back on The Real Housewives of New York City after leaving the show at the end of season 10 in 2018
Radziwill has previously acknowledged her ties to Maxwell and said she was misled by the British socialite, who photographed the cover of her best-selling 2005 memoir, What Remains.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced in June 2022
Radziwill was one of a number of public figures whose names were included in material released by the federal government that drew from contact lists, emails and social contacts. Inclusion on the lists did not imply any abuses.
A press release from Bravo teases Radziwill’s storyline this season, saying, “Carole never holds back and settles into this group of familiar faces and new connections on her own terms.
It continues: ‘But while she is focused on what lies ahead, an emotionally charged chapter from her past returns to the headlines and she is forced to confront something she thought she had put behind her.’
Radziwill joins De Silva, Lichy and returning Housewife Jessel Taank, along with newcomers Hailey Glassman, Erika Hammond and Daisy Toye.
Toye is known as Martha Stewart’s makeup artist, with Stewart himself even set to make a cameo on the Bravo reality show this upcoming season.
The Real Housewives of New York City premieres Tuesday, September 8 on Bravo.
