Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) publicly admitted for the first time Wednesday evening to having a sexual relationship with his former staffer, who later died by suicide.
“I made a mistake, and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said during an interview with radio host Joe Pagliarulo.
“Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife Angel,” he added. “I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has.”
The Texas congressman had previously denied the allegations of an affair on several occasions and said the accusations were the work of Brandon Herrera — his main competition in his reelection campaign.
Gonzales is headed into a May 26 runoff with YouTuber and pro-gun influencer Herrera.
During the interview Gonzales denied that the former staffer’s, Regina Santos-Aviles, suicide had “absolutely nothing to do with” their relationship. Santos-Aviles died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire in front of her house.
“Some of the reports are saying that she was not thriving at work. It’s exact opposite. She was thriving at work,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales’ interview came just hours after congressional investigators recommended the House Ethics Committee to look into the congressman’s relationship with his former staffer. Congressional investigators reportedly found “a substantial reason to believe” that Gonzales had a sexual relationship with a subordinate.
“I look forward to the Ethics Committee starting an investigation. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to provide all the facts and all the details that lead to exactly what occurred in the entire situation,” Gonzales said.
Though the allegations of Gonzales’ affair were not new, the scandal resurfaced with new details over the past month — right before the GOP primary.
An ex Gonzales staffer provided a Texas news outlet with an alleged text message from Santos-Aviles in which she said she “had an affair with our boss.”
Later, a set of new allegations revealed text messages from May 2024 between Gonzales and Santos-Aviles allegedly showing the congressman asking his then-aide to send him a “sexy pic.”
Those text messages were reportedly how Santos-Aviles’ husband found out about the affair between his wife and Gonzales.
Santos-Aviles died shortly after her husband found out about the relationship.
The recently surfaced allegations led to a group of House Republicans to call on Gonzales to resign or drop his reelection campaign.
It wasn’t just suicide. It was self-immolation. She set herself on fire!
At least Tony’s conscience is clear, so all is good…
The fact that God doesn’t strike down people who say this shit with the most horrific, agonizing deaths imaginable is proof He/She/It doesn’t exist.
How pretentious one has to be to declare that G-d had forgiven him. Seriously, no.
Who would republicans blame for their sins if there were no fetuses or a “God” lurking in the minds? Certainly not their misogyny, or their gross immorality.
In secular society (and politics), it’s called “dodging a bullet”.