{"id":5894,"date":"2026-07-31T07:06:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T07:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5894"},"modified":"2026-07-31T07:06:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T07:06:18","slug":"former-gavin-newsom-aide-says-his-memoir-minimizes-their-monthslong-affair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5894","title":{"rendered":"Former Gavin Newsom aide says his memoir minimizes their monthslong affair"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ruby Rippey, a former aide who had an affair with then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom two decades ago, offered her fullest public account of the affair in a Vanity Fair essay released this week, criticizing the governor\u2019s characterization of it in his recently released memoir.<\/p>\n

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Rippey, who served as an appointments secretary for the former mayor, said the affair went on for months and objected to the governor\u2019s implications that he was the one who \u201ccame clean\u201d to her husband, Newsom\u2019s deputy chief of staff Alex Tourk. The first-person account, which doesn\u2019t mention Newsom by name, comes following the February release of \u201cYoung Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery\u201d in the governor\u2019s final year in office and on the brink of a suspected 2028 presidential bid.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Four takeaways from Gov. Newsom\u2019s new book, \u2018Young Man in a Hurry\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the memoir Newsom spends less than a page recounting the affair, calling it the \u201cstupidest and also briefest of affairs.\u201d He said his sister Hilary could see a \u201cconnection sparking\u201d between the two and detailed a conversation in which she reminded him that Rippey was married to Tourk. At the time, Newsom had recently split from his then-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s account mentions just one encounter where he said she was the last to leave a party hosted at his apartment. He said he eventually came clean to both his sister and to Tourk. But\u00a0Rippey wrote in Vanity Fair that she was the one who told her husband \u2014 not the governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat detail \u2014 subtle but significant\u2014is the one that stays with me,\u201d Rippey wrote in Vanity Fair. \u201cIt reads \u2014 to me, at least \u2014 as a version of events that gives him credit for something I had already done. Technically defensible, perhaps, but one that leaves the unmistakable impression that he, not I, was the one who told Alex the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

News of the affair broke in early 2007 and Newsom told reporters at the time that \u201ceverything you\u2019ve heard and read is true and I am deeply sorry about that.\u201d Tourk, who was serving as his re-election campaign manager, quickly resigned.<\/p>\n

Both Rippey and Newsom have said in their accounts that alcohol played a role in the affair. Rippey said she is now 20 years sober.<\/p>\n

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Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement that \u201cThe Governor acknowledged his role and publicly apologized 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rippey, in her essay, denied the affair was coerced, noting that \u201cclaiming responsibility felt like the last form of agency I had\u201d as the #MeToo movement arrived \u201cwith a new version of my story\u2014one in which I was not the culprit but a powerless subordinate.\u201d While she said she is responsible for her role in the affair, she recognizes the power imbalance.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPower does not need to coerce,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt only needs to exist. The responsibility to hold the line belongs to the one who holds it. That didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the lead-up to the affair, Rippey described how her office has been relocated\u00a0as \u201cthe mayor wants me at the desk outside his door.\u201d In another instance at a Mexican restaurant on Lombard Street in 2004, she said she felt \u201cthe mayor looking at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI glance up\u2014across the table\u2014back at him,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAs if caught off guard, he reacts, pointing at me. \u2018Hey\u2014you look really good,\u2019 he says. \u2018You\u2019ve lost all your pregnancy weight.\u2019 There\u2019s an awkward laugh. I reach for another chip and stare at my husband\u2019s margarita, the salt rim catching the light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is a potential 2028 presidential contender alongside Newsom, is also mentioned in Rippey\u2019s essay in a section titled \u201cA Real Girl\u2019s Girl.\u201d At the time, Harris was the district attorney of San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Rippey recalled telling Harris that people are asking her to speak out and that a publisher offered her an advance on a memoir.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe listens, then says simply: \u2018I wouldn\u2019t say anything right now, Ruby. Just pause. More time will give you better perspective,’\u201d Rippey recounts Harris saying. \u201cIt turns out to be the best advice I receive. I am newly sober and still inside the wreckage\u2014unable to make sense of anything, let alone speak clearly about it. So I stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rippey said the conversation with Harris came after a San Francisco Chronicle story in which Jennifer Siebel Newsom \u2014 Newsom\u2019s then-girlfriend and now wife \u2014 said, \u201cThe woman is the culprit,\u201d in relation to the affair. Siebel Newsom later publicly apologized.<\/p>\n

Read more Ray delivers gem vs. Padres in likely last start with SF Giants<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The affair happened when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Gavin Newsom aide says his memoir minimizes their monthslong affair - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5894\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Gavin Newsom aide says his memoir minimizes their monthslong affair - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The affair happened when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5894\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T07:06:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Former Gavin Newsom aide says his memoir minimizes their monthslong affair\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T07:06:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894\"},\"wordCount\":861,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/52cada424486b19b83b1c3c2a8662df9.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5894\",\"name\":\"Former Gavin Newsom aide says his memoir minimizes their monthslong affair - 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