(CNN) — A former staffer who had an affair with Gavin Newsom over 20 years ago offered extensive details in an essay published Tuesday by Vanity Fair, taking issue with how the California governor has more recently characterized what happened.
Newsom, then the mayor of San Francisco, admitted in 2007 that he had an affair in the years prior with Ruby Rippey, his appointments secretary and the wife of his campaign manager, Alex Tourk. Rippey has not spoken much about the scandal as Newsom has risen in politics and emerged as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
In the Vanity Fair piece, Rippey criticizes Newsom’s description of the affair and its fallout in a memoir he published earlier this year. He wrote that it was the “briefest of affairs,” and recounted how he “came clean” to Tourk, a close friend.
“That detail—subtle but significant—is the one that stays with me,” Rippey wrote. “It reads—to me, at least—as a version of events that gives him credit for something I had already done.”
Newsom had filed for divorce from his wife, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, before the affair, but the relationship with his subordinate was an early political stumbling block for Newsom. Tourk resigned after confronting Newsom about it, and Newsom later held a news conference where he said, “Everything you’ve read is true and I’m deeply sorry for that.”
Still, he was reelected later that year with over 73% of the vote.
“The Governor acknowledged his role and publicly apologized nearly two decades ago when he was still mayor,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement responding to Rippey’s essay. “In the time since, he met his wife, started a family, and has focused on serving Californians. He addressed this chapter of his life, including in his memoir, and out of respect for everyone involved, does not have anything further to add.”
Newsom’s personal life is likely to come under more scrutiny if he runs for president in 2028.
The governor, who has since married Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has been open about his interest in a possible White House bid as he has urged fellow Democrats to stand up more to President Donald Trump and “fight fire with fire.”
Writing for Vanity Fair, Rippey traces the start of the affair to the summer of 2005 and said it coincided with a period in her life when she was struggling with alcohol addiction. She said she was accountable for her actions but noted that the #MeToo movement, which started in 2017, opened her eyes to the power imbalance in their relationship.
“Both things are true: I am responsible for what I did. Power does not distribute consequences evenly,” Rippey, now sober, wrote. “For my former boss, it is a footnote in a longer arc of ascent. For me, it is the fracture that split my life into before and after.”
She said she considered whether to speak out publicly in the aftermath of the affair and was approached about writing a memoir. But she credited Kamala Harris, then the San Francisco district attorney, with giving her the best advice she received.
“I wouldn’t say anything right now, Ruby. Just pause. More time will give you better perspective,” she said Harris told her.
CNN has reached out to a Harris representative for comment.
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