In 2021, Republican Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione introduced the Human Life Protection Act, a trigger ban that turned Texas into one of the strictest anti-abortion states in the nation after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade the following summer.
The legislation almost totally stripped women in Texas of their reproductive autonomy. Maternal mortality has since spiked, and routine pregnancy complications have become more dangerous. But while Capriglione led the charge to restrict the rights of his constituents in his political career, in his personal life he allegedly paid for multiple abortions — according to Alex Grace, a former exotic dancer who says she had a long relationship with Capriglione.
In a lengthy interview published on Friday by Texas-based independent outlet Current Revolt, Grace alleged that she and Capriglione — a married father of three who was elected to the state legislature in 2012 — had been romantically involved for almost two decades. She said the two met in 2004, when she was 18 years old and working as a dancer. Grace said they would meet at a variety of locations, including his home and office, describing the representative’s behavior as paranoid to the point of absurdity.
Grace described one incident where, in order to avoid being seen together, Capriglione told her to “go to the back of [a Chuck-E-Cheese] and next to the dumpster there would be a rubber mat. Look under it, and under this rubber mat was an envelope with money.” She added in the interview that Capriglione would use burner phones and emails to communicate with her, and often flaked on plans to meet for fear of being caught.
Grace alleged that Capriglione “funded several abortions for his own personal gain,” and that she felt his support for anti-abortion legislation ran contrary to his own personal beliefs and values. “If you are using abortions for your personal gain, if you are using women for your personal gain, why announce to the world that this isn’t who you are?” she said.
“You’re just going to have to go with my word,” Grace told the Current Revolt when pressed for additional details.
Grace’s account of her relationship with Capriglione included other disturbing allegations. The former dancer told Current Revolt that Capriglione expressed a desire to ejaculate into cookie batter intended for a bake sale one of his daughters was participating in, according to the San Antonio Current. She elaborated in a TikTok post on Sunday. “His fantasy was that — when no one was looking — that he would produce ‘baby gravy’ to put into the cookie batter before they were baked, because it was a turn on for him,” she said, claiming that he enjoyed the idea that “all of the girls in the neighborhood would be consuming” his ejaculate.
Capriglione announced last week, days before news of his affair broke, that he would not be seeking another term. He had announced barely a month earlier that he would be seeking reelection, touting the endorsements of President Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, as well as how he authored “the most consequential pro-life bill in state history.”
The representative’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone, but in a statement to The Texas Tribune admitted to having had an affair, and claimed the allegations against him were part of a targeted smear campaign.
“In holding the wealthy, the powerful, the corporate elites, and the Austin insiders to account, I knew I would face serious blowback,” Capriglione wrote. “I knew they’d attack me and come after me … I had no idea the depths to which they would sink, their appalling gutter politics, or the lies and defamation they would spread.”
“Years ago, I selfishly had an affair,” he conceded. “I’m not proud of this. Thank God my wife and family forgave me, and we moved past it and have the strong marriage we do today.” He wrote that “the rest is categorically false and easily disproven … I have never, nor would I ever, pay for an abortion.”
“Lying and defaming me, twisting and manipulating old events for political purposes, is wrong and I will be pursuing my legal remedies,” Capriglione added, writing that he planned to return his “fulltime attention” to his legislative duties.
But while Capriglione might be ready to get back to work and forget about the whole thing, at least one Texas House member has called for his resignation, and for the allegations against him to be investigated by the House General Investigating Committee. State Rep. Briscoe Cain, a fellow Republican, wrote on X that Caprilione “should resign,” reiterating in a subsequent post: “If he had any role in killing babies — he should resign.”
In a state where Republican lawmakers regularly exalt themselves as paragons of family values and virtuous living, Capriglione is not the only Texas Republican rocked by an infidelity scandal in the past month.
More from Rolling Stone
Best of Rolling Stone
Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Comments