MAGA Representative Had Affair With Aide Who Set Herself on Fire

MAGA Representative Tony Gonzales reportedly had an affair with an aide in 2024. When she told the rest of the office last April, Gonzales abruptly cut her off and demoted her at work. A few months later, she set herself on fire and died. Gonzales is currently running for reelection in Texas.

Regina Ann Santos-Aviles was a 35-year-old wife and mother who served as the regional director for Gonzales’s Uvalde, Texas, office. 

An anonymous former staffer who described himself as Santos-Aviles’s “best friend” told San Antonio Express News that Gonzales stayed at a staffer’s family cabin in Uvalde, and Santos-Aviles spent between one to two hours alone with the married congressman there on two separate occasions. On May 29, just one day after Gonzales’s primary victory, Santos-Aviles made her affair known to the rest of the staff.

It appears that Santos-Aviles was punished for her admission, as meetings she set were canceled and the representative stopped traveling to Uvalde, something he had done regularly. Her husband also became aware of the affair, adding to her distress. She spiraled into depression and started taking medication for it in the summer of 2025. Her friend became concerned for her well-being, even alerting District Director John Falcon—to no avail. 

“She talked about Tony every day,” he said. “She went from the number one employee in the office to nothing.” 

In August 2025, Santos-Aviles attempted suicide but survived. The next month, she self-immolated with gasoline and died a day later at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. 

Gonzales skipped the funeral and deflected blame when asked.  

“People throwing rocks at me, saying I’m doing nasty things—I totally get that. But the rumors are completely untruthful,” he said, calling Santos-Aviles’s death a “very tragic situation.”

Gonzales has mostly tried to avoid acknowledging his role in this tragedy. But now scrutiny is growing over the Trump-endorsed representative, with even MAGA sycophant Laura Loomer magnifying the situation. 

“A devastating report about GOP Representative Tony Gonzales and one of his former staffers named Regina Santos-Aviles who committed suicide by lighting herself on fire is set to drop this week,” she wrote. “Rep. Gonzales is married and has 6 children. Regina Santos-Aviles was also married and had a small child at the time of her suicide. I’m told the report is career ending!” 

San Antonio Express News has pulled its endorsement of Gonzales, signaling a tough road ahead for Gonzales’s political career.