Tony Hawk Addresses Allegations of Marrying on Jeffrey Epstein’s Island

Tony Hawk is addressing the rumors surrounding his alleged marriage on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.

“Here are the facts and timelines of my nuptials,” the professional skateboarder, 57, stated via his Instagram Story on Thursday, February 5, according to People. “I apologize if they don’t align with the narrative of nonsense.”

Hawk has been married four times and outlined the timeline of his relationships. He first married Cindy Dunbar in Fallbrook, California in 1990. After divorcing Dunbar in 1993, he married Erin Lee at the Hilton hotel in San Diego three years later.

After separating from Lee in 2004, Hawk wed Lhotse Merriam on Tavarua Surf Island in Fiji in 2006. Following his divorce from Merriam in 2011, he married Catherine Goodman at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2015. None of these venues were Little Saint James, Epstein’s private estate in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Hawk specified that the confusion arose from one of the guests at his 2006 wedding to Merriam—a photographer named Mark Epstein. While Jeffrey Epstein has a brother named Mark, Hawk clarified that his wedding guest is not related to the late financier’s family. (Epstein died by suicide at age 66 in August 2019 after facing federal sex trafficking charges. He had previously pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a minor in 2008, serving 13 months in prison.)

“One of the guests in 2006 took photos of the Fiji ceremony and licensed them to Getty Images,” Hawk explained. “His name is [coincidentally] Mark Epstein. An accomplished action sports photographer from Wyoming, and he is not related to Jeffrey Epstein (whom I have never met and whose island I have never visited). This is all easily verifiable information. Facts are not fungible.”

Hawk wrapped up his message by extending apologies to his friend Mark for “the misinformation vortex.”

After the United States Department of Justice released the Epstein files last month, rumors surfaced about Hawk’s involvement due to his mention in an October 2024 email from an FBI agent investigating a case involving an alleged trafficking of a minor.

The email indicated that the victim claimed that “she was taken from Ireland and brought to Jeffrey Epstein Island when she was 13 years old,” and “she was there when Prince Edward was present and when Tony Hawk got married on the island.”

Hawk wasn’t the only celebrity named in the Epstein files. Other notable figures, such as Prince Andrew, J.K. Rowling, and Bill Gates, were also mentioned. Gates, who had previously spent time with Epstein, shared his thoughts on the disgraced billionaire.

“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent,” Gates, 70, told 9 News Australia on Wednesday, February 4. “The email is false. I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way? Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize for that.”

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.