Doug Stanglin

USA TODAY

The Daily Mail, a breathless British tabloid, published an apology to first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday and agreed to pay unspecified damages and costs to settle two lawsuits for publishing an article alleging "racy" rumors about her years as a single model in New York.

"We apologize to Mrs.Trump for any distress that our publication caused her," the Mail said.

At issue was an article carried by the Daily Mail and Mail Online in August 2016 under the headline: “Racy photos and troubling questions about his wife’s past that could derail Trump.”

The article claimed that Donald Trump and then-Melania Knauss may have met three years before they actually did, and "staged" their actual meeting as a "ruse."

In its apology, the Mail said it retracted its false statements that Melania Trump “provided services beyond simply modeling.”

The first lady’s attorneys argued the articles damaged her ability to build businesses based on her status as a “successful businesswoman.” She sued the tabloid in a British court and the New York-based Mail Online in the U.S.

A joint statement issued by both parties said the Mail agreed to pay unspecified damages and costs.

Trump's California lawyer, Charles Harder, emailed a statement on her behalf praising the settlement, saying the Daily Mail issued a "full and complete retraction and apology for its false statements about her, and agreed to pay her million of dollars in damages and full reimbursement of her legal fees costs.

"Mrs. Trump will remain vigilant to protect her good name and reputation from those who make false and defamatory statements about her," the statement said.

A person familiar with the settlement, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose the information, said the total settlement for the U.S. and U.K. lawsuits amounted to about $2.9 million.

Although the Mail said there was no evidence to support the allegations, the joint statement noted the original article included Trump's denial of the allegations. Shortly after publication of the offending article, the Mail published a retraction, but it did not contain an apology.

In February, the first lady settled another defamation lawsuit against a Maryland blogger who apologized for an article in which he reported on unfounded rumors that Melania Trump once worked as a high-end escort and suffered a nervous breakdown after her speech at the Republican National Convention, The Washington Post reported.