Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford's wife fumes at him for running for re-election after revealing he had a decade affair with a 21-year-old college student who interned for Harry Reid

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Dr. Sonya Douglass is fed up with her husband Rep. Steven Horsford's  'unbridled ambition' and publicly expressed her displeasure at his decision to run for reelection two years after being exposed for a decade-long affair. 

The Nevada Democrat was 36 at the time that he began an affair with 21-year-old Senate intern Gabriela Linder. Horsford admitted the relationship to his wife after Linder, using the name 'Love Jones' - came forward with details of the affair in her podcast 'Mistress for Congress' and Twitter account. 

Douglass wrote on Twitter that she is 'not enjoying the pain' of her husband's affair, having learned about it in May 2020.  

'I have remained silent for nearly two years and want it to be clear that I am not enjoying the pain that my children and I continue to suffer since @stevenhorsford told me the day after Mother’s Day about his 10-year affair AFTER already speaking to his staff and attorneys,' Douglass, who previously went by her husband's last name but has since returned to her maiden name on Twitter, wrote on the social media platform this week.  

Douglass and Horsford are pictured above together after he won his race in 2018, two years before his decade-long affair was revealed 

Linder claimed that the affair began in 2009 while she was interning for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's Nevada office. At the time, Horsford was the majority leader of the Nevada state Senate

'That he would choose to file for re-election and force us to endure yet another season of living through the sordid details of the #horsfordaffair with #mistressforcongress rather than granting us the time and space to heal as a family.'

'We did not ask to be put in public life and were simply supporting @stevenhorsford because that’s what we understood family to be and do. We just want to heal and live the amazing lives we’ve been destined to live, free of lies, manipulation, and unbridled ambition,' Douglass continued.  

Horsford has been married to his wife - an associate professor at Columbia University - since 2000. The couple share three children, aged 13 to 21. 

Horsford first represented Nevada's 4th district from 2013 to 2015 but lost his bid for reelection. He ran again in 2018 and won the Democratic primary one month after the affair came out, then defeated Republican Cresent Hardy and took his seat back in 2019. He won again in 2021 and is now seeking third term. 

Horsford grew up in Nevada and owns a home there, but has been criticized as he and his wife and kids spend most of their time living in Arlington, Virginia.

It's not clear if Douglass and Horsford are separated, but appeared together publicly as recently as January. 'I was just trying to keep my family together,' Douglass wrote in a tweet. 

Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford acknowledged the affair after Gabriela Linder - using the name 'Love Jones' - came forward with details

Horsford and his wife are pictured above in December 2021 

Linder claimed that the affair began in 2009 while she was interning for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's Nevada office. At the time, Horsford was the majority leader of the Nevada state Senate.

The the then-21 year old claimed that she met Horsford at an event and later arranged to meet him through a friend.

She said that the two had a sexual relationship off and on again until September 2019. But the two have been in communication up until April, when Linder reached out to Horsford personal number so that he could appear on an episode of a show her young son presents on Facebook. The representative appeared on the show on April 1.

Linder has stated on her podcast that her son was a result of another relationship she had while attending law school at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Their sexual relationship took place between 2009-2010 and 2017-2019, she claimed. The two maintained regular contact throughout the decade, however.

Linder asserted that she saw her podcast as 'an empowering journey' as she moves on from the relationship, which she claims she ended after Horsford refused to leave his wife in the 2020 election year.

'I decided I can't wait, deserved more and didn't want to be that person anymore,' she said. 'And I realized someone who could lie that way is not someone who would be honorable to me.'

But the mother has gone on the defensive in tweets, even sharing screenshots of conversations she claims were held between her and the representative. The exchange involves a Black Panther costume Linder said she purchased for Horsford. 

Horsford served in Congress from 2013-2015 and again starting in 2019. He is running for reelection again this year

The mother has gone on the defensive in tweets, even sharing screenshots of conversations she claims were held between her and the representative. The exchange involves a Black Panther costume Linder said she purchased for Horsford

Besides the podcast, Linder plans on writing a book on her experience.

On the third episode of 'Mistress of Congress,' Linder stated that Horsford 'looked out for her over the years, from anything from a job recommendation to financial support.'

Linder never worked directly under the politician but would not elaborate on exactly Horsford would help her.

An aide for Horsford said Linder 'never received any compensation from the congressman of from the campaign over the course of their private relationship.'

'This was a private relationship of the congressman's and this was in no way related to his public office,' the aide added.

Linder did assert that to her knowledge, the representative did not use campaign funds or money from the state to purchase her anything.

The mother, who was a senior at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, when she met Horsford, said that now realizes the politician used his status and power to manipulate the situation. She claims he never told her not to tell anyone of the affair.

She said that the two had a sexual relationship off and on again until September 2019. But the two have been up in communication up until April, when Linder reached out to Horsford personal number so that he could appear on an episode of her son's show

'He knew how in love with him I was, and he knew what he could do and get away with,' she said. 'He knows I would support him. He never told me to keep quiet. He didn't have to. He knew I was loyal to a fault.'

Linder said she reached to Horsford through her publicist to have him on the show, receiving an email that directed her to an attorney in Washington D.C., Howard Schiffman.

According to the former intern, Horsford suggested that the issue would be damaging to everyone since they couldn't solve the situation amicably.

Linder plans to release a new podcast on Sunday but stated that she was not seeking to damage Horsford during an election year.

She did, however, want the politician to end his bid for re-election.

'If this was a story in 2018 (when Horsford successfully recaptured the seat after having lost it in 2014), he wouldn't have run,' Linder said. 'He obtained this position under false pretenses that he was a family man and man of God. He should take a step back, atone, and if people are satisfied, then he can come back into politics.'