WASHINGTON — A Texas Republican and his alleged mistress aide exchanged 3,500 texts, a few of which had been “sexual,” her heartbroken husband and his lawyer revealed to The Submit in interviews Thursday, because the widower insisted his late spouse cried out she “didn’t wish to die” after fatally setting herself on fireplace final yr.
Adrian Aviles‘ spouse Regina Santos-Aviles labored for Rep. Tony Gonzales till her demise by self-immolation in September 2025 — greater than a yr after purported trysts with the congressman had been uncovered when her husband noticed “sexual” messages between the 2 on her cellular phone.
Gonzales, who didn’t reply to requests for remark, in a blistering submit on X Thursday in flip accused Aviles and his lawyer Bobby Barrerra of apparently looking for to “blackmail” him if he didn’t pay six-figures in damages associated to Regina’s fiery demise.
“I discovered about this on Might thirty first of 2024,” Adrian stated, remembering how his partner initially held her telephone again from him by saying, “You’re not gonna like what you see.”
“I left the home with the telephone and checked out them and skim each message,” he recalled, mentioning some had been sexually suggestive.
Barrera famous that the communications “clearly point out one thing greater than a non-professional relationship” between the married father of six and his staffer — however “nothing graphic.”
“However the context is sexual in nature,” Barrerra added, “the place she’s asking her to ship him footage of herself when she is at a motel. And so the clear implication of that’s that he needed nudey pics.”
The communications are presently being downloaded by a forensics crew, Aviles and his lawyer famous, with each promising to launch their contents to the general public imminently.
“He lives his life as if nothing occurred. He has no regret. His workplace by no means reached out to us and given us any form of condolences. His spouse by no means despatched — they by no means despatched flowers,” Aviles added, noting that Gonzales wasn’t welcome at his late partner’s funeral.
Aviles and a former Gonzales staffer affirmed that the dalliance had lasted not more than a month — however the husband confused that his spouse didn’t take her personal life as a result of she was pregnant or had a historical past of psychological instability.
“Regina was not pregnant,” he affirmed. “She was a totally steady … mentally-sane individual earlier than all of this.”
Santos-Aviles husband stated he confronted Gonzales in regards to the obvious fling after studying the texts.
“Tony knew I knew — as a result of I informed him,” Adrian stated, characterizing the Texas pol’s response was “nonchalant” and claiming Gonzales solely informed him: “‘Maintain your loved ones.’”
Barrera has been privately looking for an as much as $300,000 settlement with Gonzales’ workplace beneath the Congressional Accountability Act for alleged sexual harassment of Santos-Aviles in addition to office retaliation.
The GOP lawmaker on Thursday posted a screenshot of an electronic mail from Barrera discussing the phrases of that settlement on Thursday and erupted, “I WILL NOT BE BLACKMAILED. Disgusting to see individuals revenue politically and financially off a tragic demise. The general public ought to IMMEDIATELY have full entry to the Uvalde Police report.”
“Tony disregarded the half that he didn’t need individuals to learn,” Barrera stated of the e-mail. “We downloaded Regina’s telephone and it’s replete with communications — together with dates, places and footage — of a sexual nature. He conveniently left that out.”
“He, I suppose, fails to grasp that we actually state: We don’t wish to go public. We don’t wish to destroy his profession. We don’t wish to do any of that,” the lawyer continued. “We’re making a legitimate declare beneath the Congressional Accountability Act.”
The affair revelation rocked Adrian and Regina’s marriage and the couple went to counseling for a couple of months earlier than in the end selecting to separate within the fall of 2024, in line with Aviles’ lawyer.
Regina continued to stay of their marriage home — however was minimize off from direct contact with the congressman whilst she served as his regional director in Texas, in line with a former Gonzales staffer, in the course of the Republican’s re-election bid for a 3rd time period.
One leaked textual content message between Regina and the colleague, who’s now serving as an aide to 2 Democratic campaigns, confirmed her admitting to an “affair” with Gonzales, which the Home Republican dismissed as a “smear” pushed by his GOP major opponent, a YouTuber and Second Modification-enthusiast, Brandon Herrera.
Final October, when the Every day Mail first reported on the affair allegations, Gonzales responded that it was simply “individuals throwing rocks at me, saying I’m doing nasty issues.”
Adrian Aviles lashed out Thursday that the congressman had now “tripled down” on his “lies.”
“I see a person that runs from accountability — that’s a coward,” Aviles scolded the Home rep for an “abuse of energy and manipulation” of his late spouse.
“This isn’t a f–king political factor for me,” he additionally fumed, stating he had not gotten concerned within the scandal now roiling the Republican major in Texas’ twenty third Congressional District and run “marketing campaign advertisements” or “commercials” months in the past.
Republican major voters within the Lone Star State will head to the polls on March 3.
“I used to be making an attempt to stay silent. I didn’t need this on the market. … I needed all this to only be behind us,” Aviles added. “He is not going to be allowed to lie about my spouse once more. … He’s already completed it twice, and I remained silent as a result of I’ve an eight-year-old son.”
Santos-Aviles, 35, poured gasoline on herself and ignited the fluid with a lighter, engulfing herself in flames within the yard of her Uvalde, Texas, residence on Sept. 13 — dying of the accidents she sustained the next day.
Uvalde authorities later dominated the demise a suicide, and Texas Lawyer Basic Ken Paxton’s workplace decided in December to not launch further safety digicam or bodycam footage captured of the tragedy, in addition to the 911 dispatch name or related police studies.
Aviles and his lawyer have questioned the official account.
“This was, an act of nature, however an accident as nicely. … She obtained too near the flame,” Aviles stated. “She was utterly coherent as EMS arrived on scene and she or he had an entire dialog with them stating that she didn’t wish to die. She didn’t imply to do that.”
The bereaved husband stated he requested for the information of the incident to be sealed from the general public as a result of his “son doesn’t must get on YouTube and be capable of see this in 5 years.”
“My son misplaced his mom,” Aviles added. “That’s the largest heartbreak of all of it.”
Barrera additionally stated, “Whereas she clearly created the circumstances that prompted her demise, I don’t assume she supposed to gentle herself on fireplace.”
“This was a determined cry for assist and a focus. That is the place I’m in my life. And that’s why I don’t assume it was an intentional suicidal act,” he added. “That’s the worst, most painful demise you possibly can inflict upon your self.”
A spokesperson for Gonzales’ workplace didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
