Short Answer
Epstein and Maxwell met in New York in the early 1990s after Ghislaine’s father Robert Maxwell died. They had a romantic relationship for roughly the first half of the decade, transitioning to a close professional partnership through the late 1990s and 2000s, with Maxwell managing his properties and operations through at least the mid-2010s.
In Detail
1991–1992: Meeting in New York
Ghislaine Maxwell relocated to New York following her father’s November 1991 death. She and Epstein met within a year or so, likely through overlapping social circles among New York and international elites. The exact circumstances of the first meeting are not documented in court records.
1992–1997: Romantic Partnership
By the early 1990s, Epstein and Maxwell were in a romantic relationship. Maxwell appeared prominently in Epstein’s social life, attending dinners, parties, and events with him across New York, Palm Beach, and internationally. Testimony and contemporaneous accounts suggest the romantic dimension of the relationship wound down in the mid-to-late 1990s.
1997–2008: Professional Operating Partnership
Despite the end of the romantic relationship, Maxwell remained extraordinarily close to Epstein, managing his properties, overseeing household staff, and according to prosecutors and victims, actively recruiting young women and girls for Epstein. This period encompassed the core of the alleged trafficking operation.
2008–2019: Post-Conviction Period
After Epstein’s 2008 conviction, Maxwell’s public association with him became less visible, though evidence in the Maxwell trial suggested the operational relationship continued in some form into the 2010s.
2019: Disappearance and Arrest
When Epstein was arrested in July 2019, Maxwell disappeared from public view. She was arrested hiding in New Hampshire in July 2020.