Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales acknowledges affair with former aide who died

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas acknowledged for the first time Wednesday having an affair with an aide who later died after setting herself on fire, a revelation that came on the same day the House Ethics Committee announced it was initiating an investigation into the congressman.

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

“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.

Gonzales went on to say he reconciled with his wife and has asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation. Under House ethics rules, a lawmaker may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House under their supervision.

The top Republican and Democratic members on the committee said in a joint statement that an investigative panel would look into whether Gonzales engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee in his office and whether he discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges.

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

“What you’ve seen is not all the facts,” Gonzales said.

In his interview broadcast Wednesday, Gonzales said Santos-Aviles was thriving at work and he was shocked when he learned of her death. He said he had not spoken to her since June 2024 and 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, 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. On Tuesday, he was forced into a May runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube gun-rights influencer who narrowly lost to Gonzales in the 2024 primary.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that it had obtained text messages in which Santos-Aviles wrote to a colleague that she had an affair with the congressman.

The AP has not independently obtained copies of the messages. A lawyer for Adrian Aviles, Santos-Aviles’ husband, has said the husband found out about the affair before his wife’s death.

Santos-Aviles, 35, died in September 2025 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.