One month ago, she faced public disgrace as her husband’s political career crumbled under numerous sexual assault allegations. Since then, she has been seen without her wedding ring, navigating life amid the scandal.
Now, Brittany Watts, estranged from former congressman Eric Swalwell, is making significant changes, including a switch to blonde hair, as she seeks to move forward from the controversy.
This week, the 42-year-old was spotted outside her $1.2 million home in the Eckington area of Washington D.C., showcasing her fresh look while accepting deliveries.
Meanwhile, her 45-year-old husband has remained out of sight since his career imploded due to accusations of rape, pursuing intoxicated women, coercing staffers into sexual activities, and soliciting explicit photos from women via social media.
Two women alleged that he sent them unsolicited explicit images of himself.
Although the California Democrat has refuted the most shocking accusations, he had to admit to several affairs. This admission prompted Watts to take their children and retreat to Mexico, seeking refuge from the scandal’s impact.
Two criminal investigations into the assault claims against Swalwell have been started, one by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the other by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Although they are yet to announce publicly that they have split, Watts has made her feelings clear by ditching her ring while Swalwell is MIA.
Brittany Watts took in deliveries from the front porch of the $1.2 million home she shared with husband Eric Swalwell before his political life came crashing down amid a series of sexual accusations
Watts always wore her wedding band when she and Swalwell seemed happily married
Earlier this week, a neighbor and friend of the family told the Daily Mail that she doubts Swalwell will ever return to the Victorian bungalow the family once shared.
‘I don’t think he’ll ever be back,’ she said.
Swalwell’s whereabouts remain a mystery, given that he has no other home and was using a rented room in Livermore in the Bay Area as a base for his now aborted California gubernatorial run.
Nor has he been seen at the homes of other family members, either at his brother’s pad in Dublin, California, or his dad’s in Houston.
Swalwell was also kicked out of billionaire backer Stephen Cloobeck’s $26m Beverly Hills mansion in the wake of the allegations, with the longtime Dem donor saying he is done with the party as a result of the scandal.
‘I am no longer supporting Eric. F***ing tell everyone I’m a libertarian. F***- you, Democrat Party. I’m a libertarian now,’ Cloobeck ranted to the California Post after handing Swalwell his marching orders.
Swalwell had been leading the charge in the California Governor’s race when his career spectacularly blew up. Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra are now the front runners.
The fallout from the claims even cost him the support of best pal Ruben Gallego, the junior senator for Arizona, as well as his role in Congress. ‘He lied to all of us,’ Gallego, 46, said.
Swalwell met Watts when they were introduced by mutual friends in 2015. He was divorced at the time. They married the following year and have three children, Eric ‘Nelson’, nine, Kathryn ‘Cricket’, seven, and Hank, four.
Watts has dyed her hair blonde following the apparent split from her husband
A friend of Watts told the Daily Mail that she did not think the disgraced ex-congressman will return to the couple’s home
One of Swalwell’s accusers, Lonna Drewes, claimed Swalwell raped and choked her.
‘While he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died,’ she tearfully told reporters last month.
And a former staffer told CNN that Swalwell raped her while she was drunk – and that despite her attempts to push him away during the encounter, ‘He didn’t stop.’
He has denied raping either woman.
Although he issued a groveling apology to his wife, she appears to be in an unforgiving mood, despite not talking about the scandal publicly.
Despite his political career imploding, Swalwell has continued to use campaign funds and splashed out $250,000 on lawyers between April 19 and May 16.
The Daily Mail spotted Watts on a coffee run in Washington, DC, on May 14. Conspicuously she had already ditched her wedding ring
Swalwell accuser Lonna Drewes tearfully told reporters she thought she was going to die when the then-congressman allegedly raped her
That sparked outrage from donors, many of whom demanded their cash back and have now left Swalwell with just $2,610,407 in the campaign account – a far cry from the millions he once had on hand.
But, as campaign finance disclosures have revealed, much of that cash was squandered on booze deliveries and luxury trips to Las Vegas.
That included $6,100 on deliveries from now defunct alcohol delivery service Drizly, as well as $600 lavished on two steakhouse dinners.
Swalwell also charged his campaign $3,100 for a 10-day trip to Sin City where he stayed at the glamorous Cosmopolitan hotel and racked up an eye-watering $19,000 tab on Uber Eats over the course of 220 orders.
Other spending included a $46,930 bill for the services of his Brazilian nanny Amanda Barbosa, as well as a $273 charge to See’s Candles for gifts and a $186 charge to a shop in Salt Lake City called Spoonful of Comfort that sends care packages of chicken noodle soup.
