Gavin Newsom says marriage to Kimberly Guilfoyle felt like 'going through the motions'

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: California Gov Gavin Newsom has offered a rare and blunt look into his personal life, admitting that his marriage to Kimberly Guilfoyle lacked emotional depth and warmth.

In his upcoming memoir, 'Young Man in a Hurry', set for release on February 24, Newsom reflects on what he now sees as a hollow relationship marked by emotional distance and personal confusion.

According to excerpts reported by The New York Times, the Democratic governor writes that he married Guilfoyle during a period when he had become “skilled at repressing my feelings.” The pair, once labeled “the New Kennedys” of California politics, tied the knot in 2001 when Newsom was serving as mayor of San Francisco. 

Gavin Newsom opens up about failed marriage

In the memoir, Newsom describes the lead-up to his wedding as deeply disconnected. He recalls moving toward marriage without fully understanding why, writing that he was “just going through all the motions until the motions led me right up to the altar.”

He also suggests that Guilfoyle, who later became a prominent conservative media figure, accepted the emotional distance he maintained during their relationship. “Kimberly allowed me this emotional distance,” Newsom wrote, according to The Times.

At the time, both were ambitious and deeply focused on their careers. Newsom was rising quickly in Democratic politics, while Guilfoyle was building her own path in law and media.

Gavin Newsom details divorce, affair, and personal fallout

The couple separated and divorced in 2005, citing the pressures of demanding careers and living on opposite coasts. Kimberly Guilfoyle later went on to date Donald Trump Jr and currently serves as the US Ambassador to Greece.

As the marriage unraveled, Gavin Newsom admits his personal life grew more complicated. During the breakup, he had an affair with the wife of his then–deputy chief of staff, a scandal that made headlines and nearly ended his political career. Looking back, Newsom calls the affair “the worst betrayal of my life.”

“I thought of myself as a single guy who happened to be mayor,” he wrote. “Had my head been on straight, I would have seen it was the other way around.”

Gavin Newsom avoids deeper details on other relationships

While the memoir is candid about his first marriage and its failures, Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, reportedly avoids going into detail about some of his other romantic relationships.

 He briefly addresses his past relationship with Brittanie Mountz, a 19-year-old model and college lacrosse player he dated when he was 38, downplaying it as something that “only went on a few dates.”

The book also mentions his former relationship with actress Sofia Milos, known for roles in 'The Sopranos' and 'CSI'. Newsom writes that he ended that relationship after oil magnate Gordon Getty told him Milos “wasn’t suited to him."