Gavin Newsom is explaining why one of the most talked-about chapters of his personal life never made it into his new memoir.
According to the New York Post, the California governor, whose book is set for release later this month, chose to recount several high-profile relationships — but deliberately avoided revisiting a brief and controversial romance with a much younger woman that once fueled intense media scrutiny.
In “Young Man in a Hurry,” Newsom reflects on what he describes as a turbulent and highly public love life, including an affair he has previously called “the worst betrayal of my life.”
That relationship involved Ruby Rippey-Tourk, a former staffer in Newsom’s office, during his time as mayor of San Francisco.
The affair began in 2005 as Newsom was divorcing his then-wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Rippey-Tourk was married at the time to Alex Tourk, Newsom’s deputy chief of staff.
The relationship remained secret until 2007, when it surfaced after Alex Tourk resigned. Rippey-Tourk disclosed the affair while participating in a substance-abuse rehabilitation program.
But while Newsom revisits that episode in his memoir, he largely avoids another relationship that generated headlines shortly afterward — his 2006 romance with Brittanie Mountz.
Mountz, then 19, was a model and college lacrosse player when she was seen publicly with Newsom, who was 39 at the time and often dubbed “Mayor McHottie” by local media.
The pair appeared together at the San Francisco Symphony’s season-opening gala, immediately prompting public backlash and questions about their 20-year age gap.
Speculation intensified amid claims Mountz altered her age on Myspace from 19 to 26. She was also criticized after being photographed holding a glass of wine at a movie premiere she attended with Newsom.
At the time, Newsom’s spokesman said the mayor did not give Mountz alcohol and “didn’t notice” whether she was drinking.
Asked by The New York Times why Mountz was omitted from his memoir, Newsom downplayed the relationship.
They “only went on a few dates,” he told The Times.
The book also includes another surprising personal disclosure. Newsom writes that he ended a relationship with “Sopranos” and “CSI” actress Sofia Milos after oil magnate Gordon Getty advised him she “wasn’t suited to him.”
Newsom’s second and final term as governor ends in 2027. The 58-year-old is widely expected to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
He has increasingly positioned himself as a party disruptor willing to confront President Donald Trump directly, and the memoir is viewed as part of that broader political reinvention.
“Young Man in a Hurry” will be released by Penguin Press on February 24.
