Married GOP Congressman Tony Gonzales Sent Explicit Sexual Texts to Staffer Who Later Burned Herself to Death, Messages Reveal

It was just past midnight on 9 May 2024 when Rep Tony Gonzales allegedly sent the first message. 'Send me a sexy pic,' the Texas Republican wrote to Regina Santos-Aviles, one of his congressional staffers. She pushed back. 'This is going too far boss,' she replied. He kept going. The exchange that followed—graphic, persistent, and now forensically recovered from Santos-Aviles' phone—may represent the most damaging political scandal of Gonzales' career, arriving just days before a Republican primary that was already shaping up to be the fight of his political life.

Santos-Aviles, who served as regional director of Gonzales' Uvalde office, died by suicide on 14 September 2025, at the age of 35. She was the mother of an eight-year-old boy. Her widower, Adrian Aviles, released the texts, saying that he wants the world to know what kind of man the congressman really is.

The Night the Messages Were Sent

According to the texts, Gonzales asked Santos-Aviles about her preferred sexual position before writing 'On top pinning your legs.' When she again tried to slow things down—'This is too far, Tony. [G]o to sleep are you sure your sober'—he pressed on, telling her: 'I'm just such a visual person.' At one point Santos-Aviles asked: 'Please tell me you didn't just hire me because I was hot.' Gonzales replied simply: 'Never.'

The messages were not stumbled upon accidentally. The forensic team extracted them as part of an active legal claim filed under the Congressional Accountability Act, which allows congressional staff to seek damages of up to $300,000 (approximately £222,240) for alleged sexual harassment and workplace retaliation. A fellow Gonzales staffer who described himself as Santos-Aviles' closest friend said she had confided in him, writing in a text that she had an 'affair with our boss.' Her husband Adrian says he discovered similar messages around the same time—ones he described as 'very sexual in nature'—and the couple separated not long after.

'Zero Remorse, Zero Accountability'

Gonzales' response to the widower's disclosures has been to go on the offensive. He posted on X that he 'will not be blackmailed,' calling it 'disgusting to see people profit politically and financially off a tragic death.' His attorney reportedly sought a $300,000 non-disclosure settlement. Gonzales framed this publicly as extortion.

Adrian Aviles was having none of it. 'You're a home wrecking perverted sick man Tony,' he responded. 'Zero remorse, zero accountability just denial, deflection, lies, and playing the victim.' He went further, calling on President Trump, who endorsed Gonzales in December, to pull that endorsement. 'I'm exposing your disgust as my duty to him, and in memory of Regina, who deserved better than your abuse of power,' Aviles wrote. Attorney Bobby Barrera, representing the widower, said the claim was simply 'a legitimate Congressional Accountability Act claim for retaliatory harassment and sexual harassment by a congressman.'

Gonzales, for his part, has not directly addressed whether a sexual relationship took place. In a prepared statement, he called Santos-Aviles 'a kind soul' and blamed his primary challenger, gun activist Brandon Herrera, for orchestrating the timing of the revelations. Herrera has called on Gonzales to resign. Texas Republican state Rep Wes Vidrell has done the same, saying that 'if this is true, and it does appear credible, Tony should step down.'

An Ethics Probe Already in Motion

What makes this more than a political headache is the formal investigation sitting quietly in the background. The Office of Congressional Conduct, the House's independent ethics watchdog, launched and completed an investigation into Gonzales last year, well before any of this became public. Under House rules, the investigation cannot be referred to the full Ethics Committee during the 60-day window before a primary involving the member under scrutiny. That window closes on 3 March, the day Texans vote.

The rules he is alleged to have broken are unambiguous. Under the House Code of Official Conduct, a member, delegate, or resident commissioner may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision of the member, delegate, or resident commissioner. Santos-Aviles had worked under Gonzales' direct supervision since November 2021.

With the Texas primary on 3 March and early voting already underway, Gonzales faces the prospect of voters going to the polls with explicit texts, an active ethics referral, and a widower's public condemnation all hanging over his campaign. Should he survive the ballot, a full House Ethics Committee investigation—with subpoena power—could be waiting on the other side. What remains, beyond the politics, is a family shattered and a widower raising an eight-year-old alone, demanding accountability from a man who, so far, has offered none.

If you or someone you know needs help, the Samaritans can be reached on 116 123 or via samaritans.org.