affair

March 6 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, announced on Friday that he is ending his campaign for re-election after acknowledging an extramarital affair that he had been denying for months.

House Republican leadership called for Gonzales to pull out of the race after the House Ethics Committee said it was investigating the three-term member of Congress over the affair and he then admitted to it on a radio show hours later.

After Tuesday’s primary, Gonzales was to face a runoff for the Republican nomination for his seat after he and YouTuber Brandon Herrera each failed to win more than 50% of the vote.

“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election while serving out the rest of this Congress with the same commitment I’ve always had to my district,” Gonzales said in a post on X.

“Through the rest of my term, I will continue fighting for my constituents, for whom I am eternally grateful,” he said.

Gonzales has for months been denying he had an affair with his former staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, 35, in 2024, who later died by suicide after lighting herself on fire.

Gonzales had denied the affair happened since texts were shared by her husband, Adrian, of him asking for a “sexy pic” and her favorite sex position, The Washington Post reported.

Wednesday, not long after the ethics committee announced its investigation, Gonzales said on a radio show that he took “full responsibility for those actions,” admitting to the affair, and said he has reconciled with his wife.

House GOP leadership on Thursday, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R.-La., publicly called for him to end his campaign after the admission.

Herrera’s campaign manager told NBC News in a statement that he appreciated Gonzales for “making the appropriate decision.”

“I look forward to being the voice of TX23 that our district deserves … It’s an honor to be chosen and together we will make Texas proud,” he said in the statement.

WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said late Thursday he was withdrawing from his reelection race, after having admitted an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide, but he vowed to finish out his term in Congress.

He had faced calls from GOP leadership to end his reelection bid, and from others in Congress to resign.

“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election,” Gonzales said in a statement posted late Thursday to X.

The move is the latest in a quickly changing situation that stunned Capitol Hill and resulted in a House Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct. Gonzales’ decision to bow out of the race appears to clear the field. On Tuesday, he had been forced into a May runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube gun-rights influencer who narrowly lost to him in the 2024 primary.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership earlier Thursday had called on Gonzales to withdraw from reelection after Gonzales, a day earlier, acknowledged a relationship that has upturned the political world in his home state and in Washington.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” said Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, and GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain in a statement.

“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for reelection.”

Johnson, R-La., has been under enormous pressure from his own GOP lawmakers to take action, and several Republicans have already called for Gonzales to step aside. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has introduced two resolutions to punish Gonzales. The first seeks to remove him from his assignments on the House Appropriations and Homeland Security committees, while the second seeks to censure him.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, meanwhile, said he would support expelling Gonzales from the House, a rare step that requires a two-thirds vote from the chamber.

GOP leaders notably did not call for Gonzales to resign from office as they struggle to maintain their slim majority in the House, which they hold by only a handful of seats.

Their move came after Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show,” was asked whether he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her home in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled her death a suicide.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

The congressman, now in his third term, had said he would not step down in response to the allegations, telling reporters recently that there will be opportunities for all the details and facts to come out.

Gonzales, a father of six, first won his seat in 2020 after retiring from a 20-year career in the Navy that included time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the interview broadcast Wednesday, Gonzales said he had not spoken to Santos-Aviles since June 2024. She died in September 2025.

“I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing, and in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales went on to say he had reconciled with his wife, Angel, and has asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation.

Johnson and GOP leadership urged that committee to “act expeditiously.”

Under House ethics rules, lawmakers may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House under their supervision.

Mascaro and Freking write for the Associated Press.

With Gordon Ramsay’s new Netflix docu-series accused of being a “sanitised” version of the celebrity chef’s family life, there are some key parts of his past that were completely missed out

Following the release of Being Gordon Ramsay on Netflix, the celebrity chef has been accused of portraying a ‘sanitised’ version of his life.

And although the six-parter mainly follows the opening of his ambitious 22 Bishopgate venture, the Hell’s Kitchen star does delve into parts of his past – including the “mess” he was born into, and his abusive father.

But there are some murkier elements of Gordon and his family’s history that were glossed over in the documentary. The docu-series is described by Netflix as “unflinchingly honest” – but some have criticised the absence of some major incidents from the Ramsays’ past.

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Prison sentences

The Ramsay family was rocked by a devastating betrayal in 2017, when it was revealed that certain members of Tana’s family had attempted to hack into multi-millionaire Gordon’s business accounts. Christopher Hutcheson, 77, and his sons, Adam and Christopher, admitted they had plotted to access his emails and finances almost 2000 times over a five-month period from October 2010 to March 2011.

It came after Tana’s dad was sacked as CEO of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd, leading to a public fallout with his son-in-law. Between the three of them, they had managed to obtain information – including claims of a hair transplant and a fishing trip – which then later appeared in newspapers. After their crime was uncovered, Hutcheson Sr emailed his son saying: “Guess we have been rumbled. Bit late though..

Despite the family making up and Tana and Gordon not supporting the court case, the judge still deemed a prison sentence necessary. Tana’s dad was handed a six-month sentence, while Adam and Chris Jr. were each sentenced to four months suspended for two years.

Affair claims

It’s been widely reported that Sarah Symonds, claimed she was seeing Gordon for seven years, after meeting in 2001. Something he has always denied. Sarah, now 56, was was once dubbed a “professional mistress”, having had affairs with other married men, including politician Jeffrey Archer.

Sarah, who published the book Having an Affair? in 2007, ranted to the Daily Mail: “The title of the docu-series ‘Being Gordon Ramsay’ is totally fake – just like him.

“It’s misleading and disingenuous. A travesty in fact, as nothing about it was ‘Being Gordon’ at all.” She added the show is a “glossed over” version of Gordon, who she describes as a “bully, cheat, liar and serial philanderer”. Sarah said that the Netflix description of the show as “unflinchingly honest” makes her want to scream, adding that she is “trying to heal” from the trauma of her affair. Ramsay has denied ever having had an affair.

Ramsay’s brother

Gordon Ramsay was born in Glasgow, and lived on different council estates in the city, in Birmingham and in other areas of the UK. He does mention his younger brother Ronnie in the series, telling viewers when pressed that he is a heroin addict, but we don’t meet Ronnie.

He says: “We shared a bunk bed together. He’s 15 months younger than me, and he’s been an addict for the last four decades. I’ve gone to hell and back with him, and so I have a guilt complex. That could have been me. It could’ve been switched.”

Gordon has spoken more about Ronnie previously. It was revealed that back in 2007, he was arrested in Bali, after 100mg of heroin was reportedly found in his pocket, landing him a 10-month jail term. Speaking in the early 2000s to Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine, Gordon said: “I feel the pain, I feel it big time. I don’t think that my mum at 60 should still be putting up with it.

“It is hard dealing with Ronnie. He is a major responsibility. It is like having an 18-year-old to look after.” He also revealed, prior to the documentary, to the Mail that Ronnie had asked to perform at his daughter Holly’s wedding.

Gordon explained: “It was tough. It still pains me. He said: ‘Hey, have you got a music gig for the wedding? I’m free.’ I put down the phone and I said to Tana, ‘F**king hell, here we are in the house we sleep in and there’s my little brother still with two pit bulls in a council flat in Birmingham, busking.'”

Holly and Adam Peaty’s family feud

Gordon’s eldest daughter, Holly, and her new husband, Adam Peaty, were embroiled in a bitter family feud with the groom’s family in the lead-up to their wedding in December. The couple sensationally ended up uninviting all of Adam’s family, except for his sister Bethany, who was one of Holly’s bridesmaids.

The Netflix documentary makes no mention of the tension, although it does show scenes from the couples’ engagement party. According to Adam’s family, they were all cut from the show, despite being there to celebrate Adam’s proposal to Holly.

His mum, Caroline, and his cousin, Krystal, have claimed they were removed from scenes from Adam and Holly Ramsay’s engagement party. They reportedly made a number of touching speeches as part of the event, but these weren’t shown.

The pair vented on social media, with Krystal sharing a photo of her watching the engagement party scene on the doc. She said: “I was here in person, guess I didn’t make it on Netflix for my minute of fame.”

She sarcastically added: “How will I sleep at night?” And Adam’s mum Caroline shared a response in the comments section, asking: “Did they film my speech Krystal?”

She went on: ““I bet they didn’t because it was 100% full of love and positivity x.” Krystal replied: “I haven’t watched it all to be honest but no I haven’t see you and you look blurred out xx.”

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