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WASHINGTON — A staff member of Rep. Tony Gonzales disclosed in a text message that she engaged in an affair with the Texas Republican months before she tragically died by self-immolation.
In the early hours of April 28, 2025, Regina Santos-Aviles seemingly confirmed the affair in a message to a colleague, stating: “I had [an] affair with our boss and I’m fine,” as shown in a screenshot obtained by The Post.
The San Antonio Express-News was the first to report on Santos-Aviles’ admission. Following the revelation, the publication revoked its endorsement of Gonzales for the upcoming March 3 Republican primary, citing that the congressman “has questions to answer.”
On September 13, Santos-Aviles doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire in her backyard in Uvalde, Texas.
Santos-Aviles, a 35-year-old married woman and mother, served as a regional director for Gonzales in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District. This district includes much of the west Texas area along the Mexican border, stretching to the outskirts of San Antonio.
Gonzales, who is running for re-election to a fourth House term this November, has said that the purported fling, which was first reported by the Daily Mail, was just “people throwing rocks at me, saying I’m doing nasty things.”
“In politics, you better have thick skin,” he told local station KSAT this past November during The Texas Tribune Festival. “I totally get that, but the rumors are completely untruthful.”
Attempts to contact the married Gonzales, 45, were not immediately successful Wednesday morning.
This past October, Regina’s mother claimed to The Post that reports of her daughter’s affair with Gonzales taking place after she split from husband Adrian Aviles were also “completely false.”
“I don’t think it has any merit,” she said at the time.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office decided in December to seal 911 calls, police reports and other video of the tragic suicide in response to media requests.
Javier Guerra, an attorney for Adrian Aviles, has said that his client had expressed concern about his late wife’s private records being released.