The husband of the woman who allegedly had an affair with a Texas congressman before she set herself on fire has blown the lid open on the “very sexual” relationship Rep. Tony Gonzales had with his subordinate.
Adrian Aviles, in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News, went public for the first time about the alleged affair between Gonzales and Aviles’ late wife, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who died by suicide in September. Santos-Aviles was Gonzales’ regional district director.
Aviles said he discovered the alleged relationship when he returned home to find his wife texting the congressman, who was endorsed for re-election by President Donald Trump in December, when murmurings of an affair were already known. “You’re not going to like what you see,” Santos-Aviles reportedly told Aviles before the marriage was blown apart.
Aviles said he found messages from Gonzales to his wife that were “very sexual in nature.” They included demands from the congressman for sexual photographs of his staffer, Aviles said. The New York Post also obtained a grab of a text message sent by the late staffer in which she admitted to the affair. “I had [an] affair with our boss and I’m fine,” Santos-Aviles wrote to a colleague, the Post reported.
“I said the truth would come to light when it’s time, and the time is now,” Aviles, 40, said. “Tony abused his power. He should have held himself to a higher standard as a congressional leader.”
Gonzales, 45, has denied having an affair, and on Wednesday he blamed one of his GOP primary opponents for the story.
His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast about Aviles’ interview.
Aviles, who said he came forward to protect Santos-Aviles’ reputation for their 8-year-old son, told the paper that Gonzales wasn’t being forthcoming. Aviles couldn’t watch him “lie on my wife’s name,” he said.
“He talks with two tongues. The Bible says to stay away from people who talk with two tongues,” he said. “I hope that Tony will stand up and be accountable for his actions.”
Gonzales, a Catholic father of six, “pushes, you know, family values and Christian morals... denying the fact that he’s ruined somebody’s life,” he added.
Aviles said he learned of the alleged affair in May 2024.
Aviles alleged to the Daily Mail on Wednesday that Gonzales coerced his wife into the relationship. He added that she considered filing a sexual harassment lawsuit.
The couple went to counseling, Aviles told the San Antonio paper, adding that he wanted her to quit. She didn’t, though, because she felt she owed it to members of Gonzales’ district.
After Aviles texted Gonzales himself and his staff about the alleged affair, “they black-sheeped her,” he said.
“They severed communications with her. They gave her a month off. They’re essentially trying to push her out... and make her quit,” he said, in line with the account of an ex-staffer of Gonzales’.
Aviles and his wife separated, he moved out, and she took a turn for the worse, he then explained.
“She progressively just started spiraling,” he said, adding that she seemed “noticeably depressed” and “lost.”
In September 2025, after receiving a series of concerning text messages and a video from his wife, Aviles contacted her mother to check in on her.
Later that night, Santos-Aviles was brought to a San Antonio hospital after having set herself on fire. She died the next day.
Aviles said he doubts that her action was intentional.
“She did not want this to happen,” he told the Daily Mail. “This is something that was an accident. It was something that went too far. Regina loved her son so much. She would never do this purposely.”
Gonzales continued to deny an affair in a statement Wednesday.
“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place,” he told the New York Post. “Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before.”
“It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started,” he continued, referring to a GOP primary challenger. “I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”
