Gale Brophy, a Palm Beach socialite who stars in Members Only: Palm Beach, was allegedly almost escorted out of Mar-a-Lago because she approached President Donald Trump, according to castmate Taja Abitbol.
Trump isn’t on the Netflix reality show, and viewers won’t see the inside of his exclusive club. But the women on the show don’t go long without referencing the president and his Mar-a-Lago estate, using it as a form of social currency to highlight their standing in the community.
On a recent episode, Brophy tells her castmates during a boat party that she has a long history with the Trump family. She said she bid against Donald for ownership of Mar-a-Lago and had a free membership when the club first opened. She also noted that Ivana Trump, the president’s late first wife, was one of her “best friends.”
In a confessional interview, Abitbol, one of the principal cast members of the show, said she’s not “100 percent sure” Brophy’s story about her connections to the Trumps is true.
“All I know is that Gale almost got escorted out by the Secret Service because we saw Trump walking by and she went over to him and she said, ‘Do you remember me?’” Abitbol said. “He obviously, clearly did not remember her even though she claims she was bidding against him for Mar-a-Lago.”
Abitbol told Newsweek the incident she’s referencing was at Rosalyn Yellin’s birthday party, which was held at Mar-a-Lago. She said the president came in as the women were leaving, and Brophy said, “There’s my friend Donald Trump,” and told the women they both bid on Mar-a-Lago at the same time.
“The Secret Service had to push her away and it was very embarrassing,” Abitbol said. “Just unbelievable. Unreal.”
Brophy, a Palm Beach socialite, has a decades-long connection to the Trump family and denied that the president didn’t recognize her. Brophy shared a recommendation letter from Donald with Newsweek. In the letter, written in 2008, Donald says he’s known Brophy for over 20 years and praises her integrity.
“As a personal friend, I am comfortable with giving Gale a wholehearted recommendation on all levels,” Donald wrote.
Brophy added that Tiffany Trump, Donald’s youngest daughter, went to school with her son and called Abitbol “jealous” of her.
Aleta Sliwa St. James, one of Brophy’s friends, told Newsweek that she’s “personally witnessed” the longstanding friendship between the Trumps and Brophy.
“On many occasions, Mr. Trump publicly acknowledged Gale and approached her table during these events. I have also personally had dinner with Gale and Ivana Trump at Mar-a-Lago,” St. James said.
Brophy served as chair of the Red Cross Polo Luncheon from 1991 to 1999 and is seen in photos with Donald Trump, his second wife, Marla Maples, and their daughter Tiffany, at the event.
In 2015, Brophy shared a photo of herself and Donald Trump on Facebook from the ADT LPGA Golf Tournament at the Trump International Golf Course. Brophy was the chair, and Donald was the honorary chair.
At a lunch with Hilary Musser, another principal cast member, after the party, Abitbol and Musser agreed that Brophy is “very nice” but that she could tone it down with the “name-dropping.” Abitbol later said that Brophy doesn’t need to keep name-dropping people if she’s truly that accomplished.
“The circles that I’m in, nobody name drops. It is such a faux pas. So how is that proper etiquette?” Abitbol said on the show.
Brophy told Abitbol that she isn’t name-dropping, she’s just talking about her “friends” and offered to send her dozens of pages of information about the companies she’s worked for and the circles she’s run in.
Update 12/30/25 5:06 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Brophy and Aleta Sliwa St. James.