Heart & Soul Conversation # 21……The Story Behind the Story

Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend revealed a rare glimpse inside the late financier and convicted child offender's life — and how he manipulated women "for connections, for money and for social capital."

Patricia Schmidt, who was a 23-year-old working at Bear Stearns, shared pages from her diary with The New York Times Magazine and, for the first time, spoke publicly about her relationship with Epstein. Schmidt first interacted with Epstein after her boss sent her to his home in 1987.

The diary contains descriptions of her life, the couple's interactions and moments together from the 1980s.

In one remembrance, Epstein had apparently confused Schmidt's mother, whose maiden name was Arlene Dahl, with a former Hollywood starlet with the same name. But that wasn't actually the case and Schmidt never corrected him. In May 1987, he apparently found out and then called her at work to chastise her over it.

"It was terribly awkward," she said. "He sort of felt played."

By February 1988, Schmidt arrived at Epstein's apartment at 1 a.m. where he was on the phone with Eva Andersson, his longtime girlfriend that friends have said "was the love of his life." He lied to Andersson, telling her that he was receiving work materials and passed the phone to Schmidt to try and "back him up."

"Schmidt perceived it as a power play by Epstein, who was seeking not only to appease Andersson but also to show Schmidt that she was not his top priority — and that he was in control of both," according to The Times.

The dynamics between the two and diary entries show the unique ways Epstein attempted to use this "relationship for his advantage."

"On a number of occasions, Schmidt described in her diary how she and Epstein had sex. But other times, she noted his preference for cuddling or kissing on the cheek. 'He was like a little boy almost,'" she said.

In July 1989, Schmidt told Epstein that a married colleague said he liked her. She initially told him in an effort "to remind him of my value" and that another man was interested in her.

But that backfired.

"His response was that Schmidt was being naïve if she thought the man was looking for anything other than sex," according to The Times. "In the diary, Schmidt berated herself for having hurt Epstein."

"In the end, though, she was the one feeling guilty — a sign that Epstein still had the upper hand," The Times reported.