The National Enquirer's publishing company paid a Playboy model $150,000 for her story about having an affair with Donald Trump - but never ran it, sources have said.

Karen McDougal, the 1998 Playmate of the year, claimed she had a consensual relationship with Trump over several months beginning in 2006, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

But the National Enquirer didn't publish anything about McDougal's allegations, despite paying six figures for the information, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.

Trump married Melania, his third wife, in January 2005.

Playboy model Karen McDougal (pictured) claimed she had a consensual relationship with Donald Trump over several months beginning in 2006, sources told the Wall Street Journal

McDougal and American Media Inc., which owns the National Enquirer, agreed to the transaction in early August, the Wall Street Journal reported.

American Media Inc. said in a statement the $150,000 was payment for exclusive life rights to any story related to a relationship McDougal may have had with a married man - and for fitness columns written by her.

The contract, according to the Wall Street Journal, kept McDougal from disclosing her story on other outlets and established damages of at least $150,000 if she shared her account elsewhere.

But American Media Inc. didn't plan on publishing the story, even though McDougal expected it to run, people familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal.

The National Enquirer's publishing company paid McDougal $150,000 for her story about having an affair with Trump (left) while he was married to his wife Melania (right) - but never ran it, sources told the Wall Street Journal.

'AMI has not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr Trump,' the company said in the statement.

The National Enquirer has supported Trump throughout the presidential campaign.

American Media Inc CEO David Pecker told the Wall Street Journal in a statement it was known that he and Trump are friends.

But he used the National Enquirer's coverage of Trump's affair with Marla Maples when he was married to his first wife Ivana was a proof of the publication's independence.

McDougal told several friends that she had a relationship with Trump lasting about 10 months, people familiar with her account said.