A long-running controversy from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s past is resurfacing at a politically sensitive moment, with a former aide and onetime romantic partner preparing to publicly revisit the affair that once shook San Francisco City Hall and could complicate his national ambitions, the Daily Mail has learned.
Ruby Rippey Gibney, who was involved with Newsom in 2007 during his tenure as San Francisco mayor, is reportedly getting ready to offer her account of the episode, a scandal that ended her marriage and left a lasting mark on the public image of a politician now widely viewed as a potential presidential contender.
Gibney, a former aide at San Francisco City Hall, is expected to publish her piece in Vanity Fair in August, nearly 20 years after the affair threatened Newsom’s political future and led to the breakdown of her marriage to Alex Tourk, a close Newsom ally, friend and campaign adviser.
A person who has reviewed the latest draft told the Daily Mail that the forthcoming Vanity Fair article presents Newsom in a harsh light.
According to the source, Gibney conveys profound regret over betraying Tourk, whom she is said to continue to love and respect as both a friend and co-parent.
The source added that the piece leaves readers with the impression that Gibney wishes she could undo the night she became intoxicated and avoid the affair with Newsom altogether.
The draft reportedly portrays Gibney as accepting responsibility for her role in the relationship, while also arguing that Newsom’s position of authority and what she views as his lack of appropriate boundaries are important parts of the story. Her view, the source said, is that both things can be true at the same time.
Newsom, in his book Young Man in a Hurry, has characterized the affair as a brief lapse rather than a defining chapter.
Ruby Rippey Gibney, the staffer who had an affair with Gavin Newsom in 2007 when he was San Francisco’s mayor, is now preparing to spill on the cheating saga
One of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ugliest scandals is threatening to wreak havoc on his reputation yet again when the splashy tell-all is published next month
He writes he and Gibney were both ‘drinking too much’ and after a party at his apartment, she was the last to leave, leading to what he calls the ‘stupidest and also briefest of affairs’.
‘Newsom makes it seem like it was a one-time, two-time thing, but it was a much deeper, ongoing affair than he described,’ the source told the Daily Mail. ‘And I think it’s going to raise concerns about how honest Newsom has been about this incident as well as about other matters.’
‘Ruby’s account is different.
‘You get a much more thoughtful look at this affair than Newsom’s, frankly, ‘slam, bam, thank you, man’ depiction in his book.’
In fact, another insider told the Daily Mail the affair went on for many months,
Yet another source, close to Gibney, insists that she has no intention of presenting herself as a victim.
‘This isn’t a hit piece about Gavin Newsom,’ the source told the Daily Mail. ‘Ruby takes accountability for her actions, as she always has.
‘While she’s setting the record straight, her intention is for people to understand that healing and thriving post a scandal is possible.’
She now works in the private sector and recently celebrated 20 years of sobriety, the source added.
When news of the affair became public, Tourk immediately filed for divorce, while Newsom issued groveling apologies and declared that he would seek treatment for alcohol abuse.
Gibney, for her part, briefly addressed the extramarital affair on social media in 2018 when Newsom launched his gubernatorial campaign.
She expressed regret that the affair had destroyed her personal life but insisted that the relationship with Newsom was consensual.
‘I fully support the #metoo movement. In this particular instance, however, I am doubtful that it applies,’ Gibney wrote on her Facebook page.
‘Yes, I was a subordinate, but I was also a free-thinking, 33-year-old old adult married woman & mother. (I also happened to have an unfortunate inclination towards drinking-to-excess & self-destruction.)’
While the affair was devastating to her personal life, she added that it inspired her to quit drinking.
She told the LA Times in 2018 that her Facebook post was not ‘about ‘absolving’ anyone for anything. But I do want to make sure that the #metoo movement is reserved for cases and situations that deserve it.’
Gibney has since remarried and has two sons: one with her now ex-husband and the other with her current husband, Ryan Gibney (pictured above)
Newsom was also asked around that time why voters in California should consider him for governor given his past indiscretions.
‘I would say the same thing that I said (then) to the voters in San Francisco: that I acknowledged it. I apologized for it. I learned an enormous amount from it,’ Newsom said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
‘And I am every day trying to be a champion and a model – not just for women and girls – but to deal with the issue that we need to focus on, which is the crisis with men and boys in this state and in this country.’
In another interview with Politico in 2018, Newsom offered additional regrets, saying: ‘I’ve hurt someone I care deeply about, Alex Tourk.’
‘And that is something I have to live with.’
Gibney was reportedly spotted hanging out with Newsom as early as 2005, according to the Chronicle.
Newsom was still married at that time to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Newsom and Guilfoyle announced their separation that same year and finalized their divorce in early 2006.
Newsom is now married to Jennifer Siebel, with whom he has four children
Gibney was reportedly spotted hanging out with Newsom as early as 2005. Newsom was still married at that time to Kimberly Guilfoyle but the couple finalized their divorce in 2006
Guilfoyle remarried later that same year to furniture heir, Eric Villency. She later divorced him and got engaged to Donald Trump Jr., a years-long relationship that ended when the first son started dating and eventually married Bettina Anderson.
Gibney, meanwhile, left her City Hall job in 2006 to seek treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.
Her departure fueled speculation that she was forced out as rumors about her relationship with Newsom were making the rounds at City Hall.
Gibney was also given $10,154 for ‘catastrophic illness pay’ from the city, which resulted in an investigation.
A report by the City Attorney’s Office, however, cleared her and Newsom of any wrongdoing.
In 2012, Gibney appeared on a short-lived Bravo reality TV show, Miss Advised, about dating and relationships.
Newsom is now married to Jennifer Siebel, with whom he has four children.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Governor Newsom’s office for comment.
