EXCLUSIVE: Gavin Newsom's Former Mistress Breaks Silence on Their Affair
Gavin Newsom's former mistress has broken her silence on their affair and reveals her side of the story.
Aug. 19 2026, Published 6:00 a.m. ET
Kamala Harris stuck her nose in California Gov. Gavin Newsom's extramarital affair – and urged his mistress to keep her mouth shut, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
That's the shocking claim of the politico's former "lover" Ruby Rippey, who's now ripping the covers off her booze and s-- -soaked fling with Newsom when he was the mayor of San Francisco.
Harris Urged Silence Over Affair
Kamala Harris advised Ruby Rippey to 'pause' before speaking publicly after the Gavin Newsom affair became known.
Rippey said Harris, then San Francisco's district attorney, called after the news of the affair broke in 2007.
Rippey was considering writing a memoir, but said Harris told her: "I wouldn't say anything right now, Ruby. Just pause. More time will give you better perspective."
She followed Harris' advice, but now she's describing in lurid detail her liaison with Newsom, who's reportedly weighing a White House run.
According to Rippey, the affair began in the summer of 2005 when she was an aide in Newsom's office and her then-hubby was Newsom's chief of staff and close pal. Earlier that year, Newsom and first wife Kimberly Guilfoyle announced they were filing for divorce.
Rippey Recalls Night With Newsom
Rippey wrote she woke beside Newsom after drinking heavily at a colleague's wedding.
Rippey recalled the first night with her "boss" after she drank heavily at a colleague's wedding and left for a hotel in his chauffeured car.
"I wake the next morning beside him, still dressed," she wrote. "I am cold, almost shivering, and my dress... is soaked from the waist down. I had passed out. I had also wet the bed."
With her boss "still asleep," she fled back to her husband and year-old son. Days later, "my boss slips my gold bracelet onto my desk," which she'd left in the hotel room, she wrote.
Rippey Details Secret Newsom Meetings
Newsom texted Rippey after she arranged to cross paths with him, according to her account.
After that, Rippey scanned Newsom's calendar for "places I might 'happen' to see him," made sure he spots her, then left. Soon after, he texted, "Where are you?" She wrote.
"But it never matters where I am because I always go to him – his penthouse in Russian Hill, a private back room in a North Beach bar, the W Hotel in Los Angeles."
Rippey Reflects on Power Imbalance
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In his memoir, Newsom described his relationship with Rippey as 'the briefest of affairs.'
For months, the two meet to drink and have s--.
Eventually, Rippey went to rehab and her marriage fell apart. In his memoir, Newsom described it as "the briefest of affairs."
Looking back, Rippey takes responsibility for her behavior, but added the one who holds power has "the responsibility to hold the line... that didn't happen."
