Tony Hawk has firmly rejected unfounded claims that he wed on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, addressing speculation that emerged following his mention in documents relating to the convicted sex offender.
The skateboarding icon married Lhotse Merriam, a lingerie store owner who became his third wife, during a 2006 ceremony.
Wedding photographs held by Getty Images clearly identify the venue as Tavarua Island resort in Fiji, a renowned surfing destination.
Hawk had previously visited the location in 2004 for the Kelly Slater Invitational competition.
Wide-angle images captured during the nuptials correspond with other photographs of Tavarua Island when cross-referenced through Google’s image search function.
Confusion arose after the wedding photographer was identified as Mark Epstein, a name identical to Jeffrey Epstein’s sibling.
This coincidence sparked widespread online speculation about the ceremony’s true location.
Tony Hawk married in Fiji back in 2006
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Further fuelling the rumours, document EFTA00038674 from the Epstein files contains a statement from an alleged victim claiming she was present on Little Saint James island “when Tony Hawk got married on the island”.
This represents the sole reference to the skateboarder within the extensive document collection, aside from two separate mentions of his video game franchise.
No other public allegation has ever placed Hawk on Epstein’s Caribbean property either.
Tony Hawk has never met Jeffrey Epstein
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GETTYHawk responded via Instagram to dismiss any suggestion he had visited Epstein’s island or encountered the disgraced financier, who took his own life in prison in 2019 whilst awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
“One of the guests in 2006 shot photos of the Fiji ceremony and licensed them to Getty Images,” Hawk stated.
“His name is [coincidentally] Mark Epstein, an accomplished sports action photographer from Wyoming and of no relation to Jeffrey Epstein (who I never met and whose island I never visited).”
The skateboarder emphasised that “this is all easily verifiable information. Facts are not fungible.”
He also offered an apology to the photographer for being “pulled into the misinformation vortex”.
Hawk also detailed his complete marital history, confirming his first wedding to Cindy Dunbar occurred at their Fallbrook, California residence in 1990.
Tony Hawk is a skateboarding icon
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His second marriage, to Erin Lee, took place at San Diego’s Hilton Hotel in 1996.
Following his Fiji ceremony with Merriam, he wed his current spouse Catherine Goodman at Adare Manor in County Limerick, Ireland, in 2015.
The Epstein files comprise millions of documents, images and videos connected to the financier’s criminal conduct, though inclusion within them does not imply wrongdoing.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor and subsequently registered as a sex offender.
Hawk, considered the greatest skateboarder ever, stepped away from professional competition in 2003.