North Texas Republican admits affair, denies funding abortions

State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a North Texas Republican who announced his retirement earlier this week, said Friday that he had engaged in an extramarital affair but denied other allegations published by a conservative website that he had paid for abortions.

"Years ago, I selfishly had an affair. 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," his statement said. "The rest is categorically false and easily disproven."

The website Current Revolt published an interview on Friday with a woman named Alex Grace, a former exotic dancer who said she began a 17-year relationship with Capriglione in 2004, when she was 18. She alleged he had funded several abortions but declined to say whether they were her own, how she knew or when they occurred.

The Southlake Republican was the lead author of the state’s trigger ban that outlawed abortion when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and he co-authored the six-week abortion ban that preceded it.

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Capriglione, in his statement, made no mention of Grace by name and said: "I have never, nor would I ever, pay for an abortion." He also threatened legal action against the online publication.

Earlier in the week, Capriglione said he wouldn’t run for re-election to his eighth term in 2026 because he had "accomplished what I set out to do." In his statement Friday, he said he planned to finish out his final two-year term.

Grace did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear if that is her real name or a pseudonym. She said the reason she was coming forward now is because she felt she had an ethical responsibility to reveal hypocrisy.

"He now has the power to influence the lives of so many people and potentially in a massively negative way," she told Current Revolt. "I feel this is very two-faced. You know, who are you? You need to be honest."

State Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican from Deer Park, called for Capriglione’s immediate resignation and an investigation by the House General Investigating Committee in a post on X.

"If he had any role in killing babies—he should resign," Cain said.

Few other state lawmakers have weighed in.

Capriglione said Friday he believes the story was part of an effort by his enemies to punish him for investigating their own ethical problems.

Capriglione chairs the House Committee on Delivery of Government Efficiency, also known as "DOGE," which last year investigated a health insurance company, Superior HealthPlan, for allegedly spying on state lawmakers and private citizens. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched his own probe in March but closed it months later after finding that no violations occurred.

"Holding the wealthy, the powerful, the corporate elites, and the Austin insiders to account, I knew I would face serious blowback," he said. "I had no idea the depths to which they would sink, their appalling gutter politics, or the lies and defamation they would spread."