Weird Things About Gavin Newsom's Marriage That Everyone Ignores

California Governor Gavin Newsom was once said to be San Francisco's most eligible bachelor, but he didn't remain single for long after his divorce from Kimberly Guilfoyle. Both Guilfoyle and Newsom moved on incredibly fast after their marriage, but the latter also weathered a scandal in between relationships. In what was one of Newsom's most controversial moments, the governor had an affair with his campaign director Alex Tourk's wife, Ruby Rippey-Tourk, in 2005 before he and Guilfoyle divorced. Adding to the scandal was the fact that Rippey-Tourk was Newsom's appointment secretary. The then-mayor admitted to the affair and apologized once the dalliance came to light in 2007.

Someone who weathered the media tempest alongside Newsom at the time was his then-girlfriend and current wife, Jennifer Siebel, whom he started dating in 2006 before his affair with Rippey-Tourk became a public scandal. Newsom met Siebel, an actor and documentary filmmaker, on a blind date and they had an instant connection. A friend of Newsom's, party planner Stanlee Gatti, told W magazine that he thought it was love at first sight. "As soon as I saw them interact I thought, 'This is it,'" he disclosed. Siebel, meanwhile, has claimed that she knew little of Newsom's controversial love life when she met him, which seems odd given the amount of publicity it garnered. In fact, Siebel was often mistaken for Newsom's former 20-year-old girlfriend Brittanie Mountz (who was half his age), when they first started dating. 

Newsom and Siebel got engaged in late 2007, and avid pundits can't help but notice that there are plenty of strange things about the couple's marriage some are all too happy to ignore. 

In a 2007 interview that set tongues wagging, Jennifer Siebel defended Gavin Newsom's affair with his appointments secretary, essentially telling SFGate that her man was innocent and that Ruby Rippey-Tourk was the real problem. "I shouldn't say this, but there are two sides to every story," Siebel argued. "If people did research into the scandal ... the woman is the culprit. Alex Tourk is a nice man and it saddens me that his wife did that to him."

The interview did not go over so well with the public and managed to reignite the cheating scandal that, at that point, had pretty much been laid to rest. To make matters worse, Siebel had also penned some comments anonymously on SFist.com, in which she criticized Rippey-Tourk, describing her as a woman with a "checkered history" in response to some chatter about Tourk's affair with Newsom. She also asserted that Tourk was the one who initiated the affair and that people she'd spoken to told her she was "bad news." The comments were traced back to Siebel, who swiftly apologized. "This is a very painful situation for everyone involved and in my case it led to an expression of frustration that I profoundly regret," Siebel said in a subsequent statement sent to SFGate.  

It was odd that Siebel didn't consider internet sleuths might recognize it had been her who wrote the comments. It was also a little strange that she felt she needed to publicly defend her then-boyfriend to such an extent, given that the affair occurred some time before she met him. Newsom, on the other hand, did the exact opposite of Siebel and refrained from commenting on the matter. 

When Jennifer Siebel did an interview with SFGate in 2007, the reporter who interviewed her noted that she was "surprisingly open." And indeed, the partners of high-profile politicians like Gavin Newsom don't usually comment on their other half's private lives or scandals. Siebel had no qualms discussing either during the interview while also promoting her movie, "The Trouble With Romance." Her comments about Ruby Rippey-Tourk evoked some criticism from the latter's spokesperson, Sam Singer, who told SFGate that he deemed Siebel's willingness to address the affair a bad publicity stunt. 

"Ms. Siebel is an actress. I understand her need for publicity. However, her comments are unbecoming of an actress or a lady," Singer told the outlet. "We are certain everyone is equally mortified by her behavior and statements, and we hope and trust that she will find it appropriate to issue an apology immediately." An anonymous local society journalist shared Singer's views, telling W magazine that Siebel appeared desperate to be in the spotlight, regardless of the collateral damage. "I think she was very intent on getting press in any way she could at that time for her film ['The Trouble With Romance', which was then on the festival circuit]. She understands the value of public relations," they shared. 

Jennifer Siebel had starkly different political views when she met Gavin Newsom. He was a Democrat, and she grew up in a Republican household. No doubt differing political views can cause some friction in a relationship, but somehow the couple has made it work, likely because Siebel eventually changed her views. During a 2019 interview with KCRA3, Siebel described her upbringing in a traditional conservative household. "I really grew up thinking [President Ronald] Reagan was the end-all, be-all and then when I started delving into research around his policies and saw the outcomes, I realized that I didn't associate with those policies and didn't think those were the smartest," she disclosed, adding that this made for some awkward family dinners at times.

Newsom, however, still uses his wife's past political affiliation as a quip when the need arises. After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, reporters asked the governor why he wasn't meeting with more Republicans to hash out the country's future under Trump's second term, to which Newsom responded, "I meet with Republicans every day because I'm married to one. I have a large Republican family" (via X). Siebel's family remains largely Republican, but she's disclosed that, despite his conservative views, her father didn't vote for Donald Trump during the 2016 election. The same cannot be said for Siebel's cousin, Thomas Siebel, who is a staunch Trump supporter and made significant financial contributions to the controversial politician's 2024 presidential campaign.

Jennifer Siebel has alleged that convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein raped her in 2005, which was about a year before she first met Gavin Newsom. She testified during Weinstein's trial in 2022, recalling how she thought the film producer's interest was in her work. As it turned out, he allegedly had ulterior motives. Siebel didn't report the rape at the time, telling the court, "I was so violated and I don't know how that happened. I didn't see the clues and I didn't know how to escape" (via CNN).

Siebel also admitted that she didn't initially tell Newsom about the sexual assault. In fact, she asked Weinstein to donate to Newsom's campaign. "He was affiliated with the Democratic party and had given major donations to Democrats," Siebel explained when asked why she reached out to Weinstein (via The Wrap). "At the time, my husband was running for office and I wanted to be helpful to my husband." She asserted that Newsom returned Weinstein's money after the #MeToo movement took off and the film producer faced accusations of sexual misconduct from several women.

Siebel admitted that she only told Newsom that Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in October 2017. Before that, she said, she "dropped hints along the way" to Newsom about what transpired between her and Weinstein. "He knew something was off when we were at the SAG Awards and the way Harvey looked at me," Seibel told the court. The defense was skeptical about Seibel's willingness to let her husband accept funds from Weinstein given her allegations, stating, "[Newsom accepted money] from somebody you hinted had done something despicable to you" to which Siebel replied, "It's complex." The whole saga raised plenty of eyebrows.