Tony Gonzales admits affair with former staffer during radio show interview

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, admitted for the first time on Wednesday that he had an affair with a former employee.

Gonzales made the admission during an appearance on a conservative radio show, just a day after his congressional district entered a runoff in the GOP primary. The House Ethics Committee also opened an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday.

“I made a mistake, I made an error in judgment, I lacked faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” he said on “The Joe Pags Show” Wednesday night. “I have since made peace with my wife, Angel. I have asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever.”

“It’s never easy when you make mistakes like this. It humiliates you,” he added.

The Ethics Committee is investigating whether Gonzales, who is married and the father of six children, had sexual intercourse. sexual abuse with a woman a member of his staff and whether he distributed special privileges or privileges as a result.

Gonzales said last month that he had no plans to resign in the face of the accusations and that more details about the situation would be released.

“What you’re seeing is not the whole truth,” Gonzales told reporters in late February.

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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, denied any involvement in his former employee’s death. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

The three-term congressman claimed at the time that he was “blackmailed” into the case. The controversy first emerged after the incident San Antonio Express-News reported receiving text messages in which former employee Regina Ann Santos-Aviles wrote to a colleague that she was having an affair with the MP.

Later Santos-Aviles died after adjusting itself on fire.

Gonzales denied any involvement in her death during his radio appearance.

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Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is interviewed by CQ-Roll Call. ((Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

“I had not spoken to Miss Santos since June 2024. She passed away September 2025… I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic death. And actually I was as shocked as everyone else,” Gonzales said.

Last month, Gonzales accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of “blackmail” on social media, sharing a partial screenshot of an email from the widow and claiming he was looking for money.

“I will NOT be blackmailed,” Gonzales wrote in a Feb. 19 post on X. “It is disgusting to see people profiting politically and financially from a tragic death.”

In the email sent by Gonzales, attorney Robert Barrera discussed a possible lawsuit against the legislator and a possible settlement with a confidentiality agreement. The email states that the maximum amount that can be recovered is $300,000.

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Barrera denied trying to blackmail Gonzales.

“This is a desperate attempt to portray him as a political victim again,” Barrera told The Associated Press last month. “There is no blackmail here. So these are just ridiculous allegations.”

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