Christie Brinkley claims 'flirty' Trump tried to woo her with private jet flight while married to first wife Ivana

Christie Brinkley has claimed Donald Trump once asked her to join him on his private jet but she rebuffed his efforts because she suspected he was “chasing skirts”.

The model, who gained worldwide fame for three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers in the 70s and 80s, branded Mr Trump “smarmy” and “flirty”.

The 64-year-old claimed the billionaire property developer, who was married to his first wife Ivana Trump at the time, offered the invitation to her while she was staying at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

“My phone rings and this guy goes, ‘Hey, Christie, it’s The Donald.’ I say, ‘Hi, Billy,’ because I was dating Billy [Joel] at the time,” Brinkley told Porter magazine. “But the voice goes, ‘No, no. It’s The Donald!’ So I say, ‘What’s up?’ And he says, ‘I hear you’re leaving for Aspen tomorrow. I am too. I’d like to give you a ride on my private jet.’"

The model continued: “So I reply, ‘Thank you, but I have already arranged my flights.’ ‘So cancel them!’ was his response, and I say, ‘No, thank you. I’m going with friends.’ I knew he was married, and there he was asking me to go on his plane. He was kind of flirty about it. He was out chasing skirts.”

While Mr Trump, now 71, had three children with Ivana at the time, Brinkley was in a high-profile relationship with musician Joel. The model appeared in several of his music videos – including “Uptown Girl”.

The model said that was not the only time she crossed paths with Mr Trump and she had always found him “smarmy”.

She said: “I’ve had dinner with him. I’ve always found him smarmy, as in, ‘Watch out, part the waves, the rich people are coming, everything is gold, solid 24-carat gold, the best, the greatest, nobody else has more gold on anything in their house than me. Did you bring a brush? Let’s gold-leaf it!’"

Mr Trump’s 15-year marriage to socialite and former fashion model Ivana ended in the early 1990s after rumours he was having an affair with former beauty queen Marla Maples began to circulate.

It was his high-profile divorce from Ivana which allowed Mr Trump to become a mainstay in tabloid headlines. He went on to marry and divorce Maples before later marrying another former model Melania in 2005.

Brinkley’s decision to speak out about her alleged encounter with Mr Trump comes after allegations Mr Trump also had an affair with adult actor Stormy Daniels in 2006 while he was married to Melania.

Reports surfaced last month that Mr Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen allegedly made a $130,000 (£93,000) payment to Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election for her to keep quiet about the alleged sexual encounter.

The alleged incident supposedly took place four months after Ms Trump would have given birth to the couple's only son, Barron. The US President has denied the claims through his lawyer Mr Cohen, who also denied paying money for the actor's silence.