California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has defended leaving a controversial relationship with a 19-year-old woman out of his new memoir, saying the two “only went on a few dates.”
The relationship involved Brittanie Mountz, who was a 19-year-old model and college lacrosse player when she was linked to Newsom in 2006.
Newsom was serving as mayor of San Francisco at the time and was 39.
The relationship drew attention because of the roughly 20-year age gap.
Newsom was photographed with Mountz at the 95th season-opening gala for the San Francisco Symphony, where she appeared on his arm as his date.
At the time, local media had dubbed Newsom “Mayor McHottie,” and his personal life was already receiving heavy attention.
The relationship with Mountz quickly became controversial.
Reports at the time alleged that Mountz changed her age from 19 to 26 on Myspace.
She also drew scrutiny after being photographed holding a glass of wine at an event.
Because Mountz was under 21, the image raised questions about whether she had been drinking illegally.
Newsom’s spokesman responded by saying the mayor had not given her a drink.
The spokesman also said Newsom “didn’t notice” whether she was drinking.
Despite the attention the relationship received, Newsom did not include it in his memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry.”
When the New York Times asked why Mountz was left out, Newsom downplayed the relationship.
He said the two “only went on a few dates.”
Newsom was in the middle of a turbulent period in his personal life at the time.
He was divorcing his then-wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, when another relationship began attracting attention.
Newsom later admitted to having an affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, who had worked for him and was married to his deputy chief of staff.
That affair lasted roughly two years.
It became public in 2007 after Rippey-Tourk disclosed it while participating in a substance-abuse rehabilitation program.
Her husband, Alex Tourk, subsequently resigned.
Newsom addresses that episode in the memoir.
He describes the affair as “the worst betrayal of my life.”
The contrast has drawn attention because Newsom chose to discuss the Rippey-Tourk affair in detail while largely omitting the Mountz relationship, per the New York Post.
Newsom’s dating history has long been part of his public image.
He also writes in the memoir about his relationship with actress Sofia Milos.
Newsom says he ended that relationship at the urging of oil magnate Gordon Getty.
According to Newsom, Getty told him Milos “wasn’t suited to him.”
Getty had previously helped Newsom enter the wine business, which later contributed to his financial success.
Newsom eventually married Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
The couple remain together.
Newsom is currently serving his second and final term as California governor.
That term is scheduled to end in 2027.
The memoir is being released as Newsom continues raising his national political profile.
The source describes him as widely expected to consider a run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
Newsom has also increasingly positioned himself as a direct political opponent of President Donald Trump.
His memoir is part of that broader effort to tell his personal and political story ahead of the next phase of his career.
But when it comes to Mountz, Newsom has chosen to keep the explanation brief.
His defense is simple: despite the age-gap controversy and the public attention it received at the time, he says the relationship amounted to only a few dates.
