The Trouble With Romance

Gavin Newsom's girlfriend, Jennifer Siebel, apologized Monday after making disparaging comments on a local blog about Ruby Rippey-Tourk - Newsom's former commission appointments secretary and the wife of the mayor's longtime political aide, Alex Tourk.

Siebel, the daughter Siebel Software founder and aspiring actress, commented extensively about Newsom's affair on SFist.com, in which she said Ruby Rippey-Tourk is someone with a "checkered history."

Siebel made the comments in reaction to others on the SFist site who criticized her after a story in Sunday's Chronicle about Siebel's new movie and in which she defended Newsom's affair with Rippey-Tourk. In the story, Siebel said of Rippey-Tourk, who worked in Newsom's office at the time of the affair: "The woman is the culprit."Just a few hours after she posted the comments online Monday, Siebel, issued an apology through her friend, Lori Puccinelli Stern, a San Francisco public relations executive and close Newsom friend, who confirmed that the Internet post was written by Siebel.

"I am deeply sorry that I have made some public statements in the past few days that have hurt Alex and Ruby Tourk and everyone else involved in this issue. This is a very painful situation for everyone involved and in my case it lead (sic) to an expression of frustration that I profoundly regret."- Jennifer Siebel said in the statement, which was sent to The Chronicle.

On the Web site, Siebel blamed Rippey-Tourk for the affair adding, "I have tried to see Ruby's side of the story but unfortunately everyone near to her has stories and says she is bad news."Paraphrased from Newsome's Girlfriend Apologizes for Remarks She Commented Online About S.F. Mayor's Affair with Aide by Cecilia M. Vega, Chronicle