Ruby Rippey, a former appointments secretary to then-San Francisco Mayor Independent, has broken two decades of silence regarding their 2005-2006 extramarital affair. In a published The Guardian essay titled How I Blew Up – Then Rebuilt – My Life,
the 54-year-old details how the relationship tore her life apart. At the time of the fling, Rippey was married to Alex Tourk, who served as Newsom’s deputy chief of staff and later as the manager of the mayor’s re-election campaign.
Ruby Rippey Breaks Silence on 2005-2006 Affair With Gavin Newsom
The essay provides a detailed account of the trysts, which began in the summer of 2005, shortly after Rippey gave birth to a son with Tourk. Rippey recalls visiting Newsom’s penthouse in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood and a room at the W Hotel in Los Angeles, often amidst heavy drinking. When the scandal ultimately became public in February 2007, Newsom—who was single at the time and dating Jennifer Siebel—held a press conference where he famously told reporters, Everything you’ve heard and read is true.
Rippey subsequently went to rehab, left her job in the mayor’s office, and she and Tourk eventually divorced.
Disputes Over Memoirs and the Genesis of the Affair
Rippey’s essay challenges several details presented in Newsom’s recent memoir. While Newsom describes the liaison as the briefest of affairs
and claims he came clean
to Alex Tourk, Rippey writes that she had already confessed to her husband through her 12-step group a year prior. She argues that Newsom’s version gives him credit for something she had already done, leaving the impression that he was the one who told Tourk the truth.
Rippey also marks the beginning of the affair differently than Newsom’s recollection of a staff party at his apartment. She points to a City Hall staffer’s wedding at a Napa Valley estate on July 2, 2005. According to her essay, an encounter in a narrow hallway outside a bathroom led to her later sitting by a hot tub while her husband left early with their one-year-old son, followed by her getting into Newsom’s chauffeured town car to head to The Carneros Inn.
Kamala Harris’s Private Advice and the #MeToo Reassessment
According to Rippey, then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris privately stepped in when the scandal broke in 2007. Broke, unemployed, and weighing a memoir offer, Rippey was urged by Harris to just pause
and take time to gain better perspective. Rippey credits this intervention as the best advice she received, leading her to stay largely silent for years.
Reflecting on the power dynamics involved, Rippey notes that the 2017 #MeToo movement reshaped how she viewed the situation. Although she acknowledged in 2018 that she was a free-thinking 33-year-old adult, she now writes that Power does not need to coerce. It only needs to exist,
concluding that Power does not distribute consequences evenly.
Political Stakes and Current Status
The publication of Rippey’s essay arrives as Gavin Newsom serves the final year of his second term as the governor of California, with both him and Harris facing potential 2028 presidential runs. Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, stated that the governor acknowledged his role and apologized nearly two decades ago, built a family, and has since focused on serving Californians, adding that Newsom has no further comment. Representatives for Harris and Jennifer Siebel Newsom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Today, Rippey is 20 years sober, has remarried, and has rebuilt her relationship with her ex-husband, according to her essay.
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