The female subordinate who had an extramarital affair with the then-mayor of San Francisco over a decade ago said Thursday that the #MeToo movement doesn’t apply to her.
In 2007, Gavin Newsom, the current lieutenant governor of California who was San Francisco mayor at the time, apologized after it was learned he had slept with a City Hall employee, Ruby Rippey Gibney.
Gibney at the time was married to Newsom’s good friend and campaign adviser, Alex Tourk. Her remarks on Wednesday were reported by the Los Angeles Times.
In 2007, Gavin Newsom (right), the current lieutenant governor of California who was San Francisco mayor at the time, apologized after it was learned he had slept with a City Hall employee, Ruby Rippey Gibney (left)
After news of the affair became public, Gibney’s husband, Alex Tourk (above), who was Newsom’s former campaign adviser, immediately filed for divorce
When news of the affair became public, Tourk immediately filed for divorce.
Gibney, who was known at the time as Ruby Rippey-Tourk, re-married. She is now wife to Ryan Gibney, with whom she shares two children.
Gibney wrote a Facebook post on Wednesday in which she regrets that the affair destroyed her personal life, but insists that the relationship with Newsom was consensual.
‘I fully support the #metoo movement. In this particular instance, however, I am doubtful that it applies,’ Gibney wrote on her Facebook page.
‘Yes, I was a subordinate, but I was also a free-thinking, 33-yr old adult married woman & mother. (I also happened to have an unfortunate inclination towards drinking-to-excess & self-destruction.)’
Gibney wrote a Facebook post on Wednesday in which she regrets that the affair destroyed her personal life, but insists that the relationship with Newsom was consensual. She is seen above with her current husband, Ryan Gibney
Gibney, who was known at the time as Ruby Rippey-Tourk, re-married. She is now wife to Ryan Gibney, with whom she shares two children
‘I fully support the #metoo movement. In this particular instance, however, I am doubtful that it applies,’ Gibney wrote on her Facebook page
Gibney wrote that while the affair was devastating to her persona life, it inspired her to quit drinking and maintain sobriety for 11 years and counting
She told the LA Times on Thursday that her Facebook post was not ‘about “absolving” anyone for anything. But I do want to make sure that the #metoo movement is reserved for cases and situations that deserve it’
Gibney wrote that while the affair was devastating to her persona life, it inspired her to quit drinking and maintain sobriety for 11 years and counting.
She told the LA Times on Thursday that her Facebook post was not ‘about “absolving” anyone for anything. But I do want to make sure that the #metoo movement is reserved for cases and situations that deserve it.’
Newsom, who is running for governor of the Golden State in elections scheduled for later this year, was asked about the affair in light of the #MeToo movement.
Newsom was recently asked in an interview in front of an audience at the University of San Francisco why voters in California should consider him for governor given his past indiscretions.
‘I would say the same thing that I said (then) to the voters in San Francisco: that I acknowledged it. I apologized for it. I learned an enormous amount from it,’ Newsom said according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
‘And I am every day trying to be a champion and a model – not just for women and girls – but to deal with the issue that we need to focus on, which is the crisis with men and boys in this state and in this country.’
Newsom said that a culture of ‘toxic masculinity’ is fueling violence in this country.
In 2007, Newsom was mayor of San Francisco. His wife at the time was Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor in San Francisco and Los Angeles who is currently a co-host on Fox News Channel’s The Five. Newsom and his then-wife are pictured in this undated file photo
Just as her broadcasting career was taking off, Guilfoyle (seen above in February 2017) divorced Newsom because of the stress of a bi-coastal relationship
In 2007, Newsom, then then-mayor of San Francisco, was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor in San Francisco and Los Angeles who is currently a co-host on Fox News Channel’s The Five.
When Newsom and Guilfoyle were separated, it was learned that he had an affair with the wife of his good friend and campaign manager, Tourk.
Tourk’s then-wife, Gibney, was reportedly spotted hanging out with the mayor as early as 2005, according to the Chronicle.
Gibney, who worked for Newsom as his appointments secretary, left her job in 2006 to seek treatment for alcohol and drug abuse.
Her departure fueled speculation that she was forced out after rumors about her relationship with the then-mayor were making the rounds at City Hall.
Newsom also declared publicly that he would seek treatment for alcohol abuse.
After news of the affair was public, Tourk immediately filed for divorce from Gibney.
Gibney was also given $10,154 for ‘catastrophic illness pay’ from the city, which resulted in an investigation.
A report by the City Attorney’s Office cleared her and Newsom of any wrongdoing.
In 2012, Gibney appeared on a short-lived Bravo reality TV show, Miss Advised, about dating and relationships.
Newsom and Guilfoyle, who was traveling back and forth to New York for her just-beginning broadcasting career, finalized their divorce in 2006.
He has since re-married – to filmmaker and actress Jennifer Siebel. The couple has four children.
Newsom and Siebel married in a star-studded wedding in Montana in July 2008.
Newsom has since re-married – to filmmaker and actress Jennifer Siebel. The couple has four children
They have two daughters, Montana, 8 and Brooklyn, 4, and two sons, Hunter, 6, and Dutch, 1.
Newsom said that Siebel, whose films focus on themes of women empowerment and equality, has played a role in his own evolution on the issue of harassment.
In 2012, Siebel was one of the executive producers of The Invisible War, an award-winning documentary film about sexual assault in the US military.
After the Harvey Weinstein allegations surfaced this past fall, Siebel said she believed the accounts of his accusers because of ‘similiar’ experiences that she endured with the movie mogul, according to Huffington Post.
Newsom also said on Monday that he regrets betraying Tourk, his former adviser and friend.
‘I’ve hurt someone I care deeply about, Alex Tourk,’ the mayor told POLITICO.
‘And that is something I have to live with.’
After her divorce from Newsom, Guilfoyle also re-married. In 2006, she wed furniture heir Eric Villency.
That same year, she gave birth to their only child, Ronan Anthony.
This past year, Guilfoyle was romantically linked to Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who was briefly White House communications director.
Scaramucci recently reconciled with his wife, Deidre Ball.
Newsom was asked on Monday if he has had any similar episodes since the affair with Gibney.
Newsom and Siebel married in a star-studded wedding in Montana in July 2008. They have two daughters, Montana, 8 and Brooklyn, 4, and two sons, Hunter, 6, and Dutch, 1
‘Of course not,’ he said.
Newsom said he admired the women who have come forward to accuse powerful men in the entertainment world and politics of sexual harassment and assault.
California has seen a number of sexual harassment claims made against powerful men in the state capital of Sacramento.
Since 2006, California authorities have conducted at least 31 investigations against male members of the state legislature who were accused of sexual misconduct.
Last week, California’s state Senate and Assembly released documents which revealed 20 credible complaints of sexual harassment by lawmakers and senior staffers.
Newsom appears to be in good position as the campaign for the governorship swings into high gear.
Newsom, a Democrat, is considered one of the frontrunners alongside former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, also a Democrat.
The primary is scheduled to take place in June while the statewide voting will be held on November 6.