A Trump-backed congressman vying to become the next governor of Florida faced an embarrassing Valentine’s Day backlash after his wife accidentally revealed he’d pursued her while married to another woman.
Erika Donalds,46, posted a nostalgic photograph on X on Friday to celebrate the holiday, alongside a caption honoring where the relationship began with now-husband Byron, who represents Florida’s 19th District. She wrote that Donalds asked for her number after they met at Florida State University’s Oglesby Student Union during the fall of 1999. Their first romantic outing, she added, took place on Valentine’s Day 2000.
Byron Donalds, 47, echoed the message by reposting his wife’s tribute with his own declaration. “I remember that day. You were beautiful then, and you are still beautiful now,” the Florida congressman wrote, amplifying the message to his 1.1million followers. “I love you @ErikaDonalds! Happy Valentines Day!!”
It perhaps wasn’t the smartest move he’s ever made.
The dates drew immediate scrutiny from observers who noted a glaring problem with the timeline.
“Insane that she just tweeted out these dates, given it is a matter of public record that he was married to his first wife at the time, just married in fact,” Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan wrote on X.
Public records confirm that Donalds married Bisa Hall on June 15, 1999—approximately three months before he allegedly approached his current wife at the university building. The congressman divorced Hall in 2002 and married Erika Lees, now Erika Donalds, on March 15, 2003.
Social media reaction to the Valentine’s Day posts ranged from mockery to moral outrage, with many people questioning the morality of the relationship’s origins.
One commenter asked whether Erika gave Byron her number while knowing he was married. Another criticized the congressman for preaching about values while being married at the time of their initial encounter.
A third observer predicted Republicans would support Donalds despite his marital infidelity while simultaneously attacking Democrats over family values.
Hall’s own account of the marriage paints an even messier picture of how it ended. In a previous interview with WGCU, Hall described how the couple married primarily so she could qualify for cheaper in-state college tuition through his Florida residency. They did not live together as a traditional married couple, she stated.
Early in their marriage, Hall said divorce discussions arose, but Donalds rejected the idea. “‘No, I don’t want to lose my wife,’” Hall recalled him saying in the WGCU interview. His actions contradicted those words, as he began an affair with Lees.
Hall was devastated until roughly a year later when Donalds broke up with his affair partner. “He said, ‘[Erika] and I have split up, and I want to give it another chance—I want my wife back,’” Hall recalled in the same interview. She was left disappointed again when Lees revealed a pregnancy, and Donalds demanded an expedited divorce.
The storm comes as Donalds campaigns to become Florida’s next governor with the backing of President Donald Trump. The congressman announced his candidacy in February 2025 after Trump posted on Truth Social, offering his endorsement. If successful, Donalds would become the first elected Black Republican governor in U.S. history.
Donalds has faced previous controversies during his political ascent, including remarks in June 2024 suggesting Black families were more unified during the Jim Crow era of state-sanctioned discrimination. He later clarified he was not suggesting the period was beneficial for Black Americans.
The congressman’s early adulthood also included legal troubles. In 1997, he faced marijuana possession charges that were dismissed through a pre-trial diversion program. In 2000, he pleaded no contest to a felony theft charge for allegedly attempting to defraud a bank, though his record was later sealed and expunged.
Hall told WGCU in July 2024 that she was shocked to see her ex-husband emerge as a Trump ally. “To see him now, out there saying, ‘I’m a conservative Black man,’ and I’m like, ‘Since when?’” she said. “He wasn’t talking about politics at all. To see him now, it’s like, ‘When did this happen?’”
The Daily Beast has contacted Byron Donalds for comment.
