Ruby Rippey, a former aide and lover of California Governor Gavin Newsom, has revealed details of a personal and embarrassing incident that occurred during their first night together.
Rippey, who was married to Newsom's close friend and top aide Alex Tourk at the time, described the event in a Vanity Fair essay. The encounter followed a wedding celebration, and Rippey admitted to passing out after a night of drinking.
She awoke the next morning still dressed and realized she had wet the bed. "I wake the next morning beside him, still dressed. I am cold, almost shivering, and my dress—the one my mother warned me not to wear—is soaked from the waist down. I had passed out. I had also wet the bed," Rippey wrote.
Seeking to leave discreetly, Rippey gathered her belongings and departed while Newsom was still asleep, aiming to return to her husband. "He is still asleep. I find my clutch, gather my heels, and leave quickly, wanting to get back to Alex," she recounted.
Newsom, who was the mayor of San Francisco when the affair began in 2005, later acknowledged the incident by placing a gold bracelet Rippey had left behind on her desk. Their affair continued until May 2006, when Rippey entered rehab.
Rippey confessed her affair to her husband in January 2007, leading to Tourk confronting Newsom later that month. The revelation prompted a press conference where Newsom confirmed the affair, stating, "Everything you’ve heard and read is true." He did not offer further details at the time.
In response to the resurfaced details, a spokesperson for Newsom stated, "The governor acknowledged his role and publicly apologized for his conduct nearly two decades ago when he was still mayor. 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."