Ruby Rippey, a former aide to Gavin Newsom, has publicly shared her full account of their affair from over two decades ago in a new Vanity Fair essay published on Tuesday. The essay provides the most detailed look yet at the relationship, which occurred while Newsom was mayor of San Francisco, and is likely to rekindle interest ahead of his expected 2028 presidential run.
Rippey's Account of the Affair
In the essay titled How I Blew Up – Then Rebuilt – My Life, Rippey writes about her struggles with alcoholism and substance abuse, and her relationship with Newsom while she worked as his appointments secretary. She was married to his deputy chief of staff, Alex Tourk, who later managed Newsom's re-election campaign. Rippey does not refer to Newsom by name, but as her “boss” and the “mayor”.
“For my former boss, it is a footnote in a longer arc of ascent,” Rippey writes. “For me, it is the fracture that split my life into before and after.”
Contradicting Newsom's Account
Newsom, who was single at the time, publicly admitted to the relationship in 2007, telling reporters: “Everything you’ve heard and read is true.” In his new memoir, he describes the affair as “the briefest of affairs”. However, Rippey's telling complicates his account. Newsom writes that he “came clean” to Tourk, but Rippey says this gives Newsom “credit for something I had already done”. She writes: “Technically defensible, perhaps, but one that leaves the unmistakable impression that he, not I, was the one who told Alex the truth.”
Details of the Relationship and Aftermath
Rippey describes the early days of Newsom's administration, her marriage, pregnancy, and her struggles with alcohol that led to the extramarital affair. She eventually went to rehab and left her job. After the story became public, she was inundated with media calls. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who began dating Newsom shortly after, called Rippey the “culprit” in 2007, later apologizing. The governor's office and Siebel Newsom's spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
Kamala Harris, then district attorney, advised Rippey to take time before speaking publicly. “It turns out to be the best advice I receive,” Rippey writes. Rippey and her husband eventually divorced.
Re-evaluating Power Dynamics
During the MeToo movement, Rippey saw herself cast as a “powerless subordinate”. Initially doubtful, she said in 2018 she was “a free-thinking, 33-year-old, adult married woman and mother. Also happened to have an unfortunate inclination toward drinking-to-excess and self-destruction.” She now writes: “Both things are true. I am responsible for what I did. Power does not distribute consequences evenly.” Rippey is now 20 years sober, remarried, and has rebuilt her relationship with her ex-husband.
