Dr. Sonia Douglas is fed up with her husband Rep. Stephen Horsford’s “unbridled ambition” and has publicly expressed her displeasure at his decision to run for re-election two years after a decade-long affair was exposed.
The Nevada Democrat was 36 when he had an affair with 21-year-old Senate intern Gabriela Linder. Horsford admitted to having a relationship with his wife after Linder, using the name “Love Jones”, revealed the details of the affair on his “Hostes of Congress” podcast and Twitter account.
Douglas tweeted that she “doesn’t enjoy the pain” of her husband’s affair upon learning of it in May 2020.
“I’ve been silent for almost two years and want to make it clear that I don’t enjoy the pain my kids and I continue to suffer ever since @stevenhorsford told me the day after Mother’s Day about his 10 year romance AFTER as already spoken to his staff and attorneys,” Douglas, who previously went by her husband’s last name but has since reverted to her maiden name, tweeted this week.
Douglas and Horsford are pictured above together after he won his race in 2018, two years before his ten-year romance was revealed.
Linder claimed the case began in 2009 when she was an intern in the office of former US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. At the time, Horsford was Majority Leader in the Nevada State Senate.
“That he will decide to apply for re-election and force us through another season of #horsfordaffair smut with #mistressforcongress instead of giving us the time and space to heal as a family.”
“We didn’t ask to be involved in public life and just supported @stevenhorsford because that’s what we meant by family. We just want to heal and live the amazing life we were meant to live, free from lies, manipulation, and unbridled ambition,” Douglas continued.
Horsford has been married to his wife, an assistant professor at Columbia University, since 2000. The couple has three children aged 13 to 21.
Horsford first represented Nevada’s 4th district from 2013 to 2015 but lost his bid for re-election. He ran again in 2018 and won the Democratic primary a month after the case came to light, then defeated Republican Crescent Hardy to return to his seat in 2019. He won again in 2021 and is now running for a third term.
Horsford grew up in Nevada and owns a home there, but has been criticized for spending most of his time with his wife and children in Arlington, Virginia.
It’s unclear if Douglas and Horsford are separated, but they appeared together in public as recently as January. “I was just trying to save my family,” Douglas tweeted.
Nevada State Representative Stephen Horsford acknowledged the affair after Gabriela Linder, using the name “Love Jones”, gave details.
Horsford and his wife pictured above in December 2021.
Linder claimed the case began in 2009 when she was an intern in the office of former US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. At the time, Horsford was Majority Leader in the Nevada State Senate.
Then the 21-year-old girl claimed that she met Horsford at the event, and later arranged a meeting with him through a friend.
She said that they had sexual relations from time to time until September 2019. But they kept in touch until April, when Linder contacted Horsford on a personal number so he could appear on an episode of her little son’s show. presents on Facebook. The rep appeared on the show on April 1st.
Linder stated on her podcast that her son was the result of a different relationship she had while she was in law school at Saint Thomas University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
According to her, their sexual relationship took place between 2009-2010 and 2017-2019. However, the two remained in regular contact throughout the decade.
Linder claimed she viewed her podcast as “an empowering journey” as she moves on from a relationship she says ended after Horsford refused to leave his wife in the 2020 election year.
“I decided I couldn’t wait, I deserved more, and I didn’t want to be that person anymore,” she said. “And I realized that someone who can lie like that would not be an honor to me.”
But the mother has taken a defensive stance on Twitter, even sharing screenshots of conversations she claims took place between her and the rep. The exchange includes the Black Panther costume that Linder bought for Horsford.
Horsford served in Congress from 2013 to 2015 and again starting in 2019. He is running for re-election again this year.
The mother has taken a defensive stance on Twitter, even sharing screenshots of conversations she claims took place between her and the rep. The exchange includes the Black Panther costume that Linder bought for Horsford.
In addition to the podcast, Linder plans to write a book about his experience.
On the third episode of “Mistress of Congress”, Linder stated that Horsford had “looked after her over the years, from job recommendations to financial support.”
Linder has never worked directly with a politician, but did not specify that it was Horsford who would help her.
A Horsford aide said that Linder “never received any compensation from the congressman or from the campaign in the course of their personal relationship.”
“This was a personal relationship of the congressman, and it had nothing to do with his public office,” the aide added.
Linder claimed that, to her knowledge, the representative did not use campaign funds or money from the state to buy anything for her.
The mother, who was a senior at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas when she met Horsford, said she now understands that the politician used his status and power to manipulate the situation. She claims that he never told her not to tell anyone about the affair.
She said that they had sexual relations from time to time until September 2019. But they kept in touch until April, when Linder contacted Horsford on a personal number so he could appear on an episode of her son’s show.
“He knew how much I was in love with him, and he knew what he could do and leave,” she said. “He knows that I will support him. He never told me to be quiet. He shouldn’t have. He knew that I was faithful to the point of failure.
Linder said she contacted Horsford through her publicist to invite him to the show, receiving an email directing her to Washington, D.C. attorney Howard Schiffman.
According to a former intern, Horsford suggested that the issue would harm everyone as they could not resolve the situation peacefully.
Linder plans to release a new podcast on Sunday but said she does not seek to hurt Horsford in an election year.
However, she wanted the politician to end his bid for re-election.
“Had that happened in 2018 (when Horsford successfully regained his seat after losing it in 2014), he would not have run,” Linder said. “He got this position under the false pretense that he was a family man and a man of God. He must take a step back, redeem himself, and if people are happy, he can return to politics.”