Campaign photo of Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) (Source: Giovanni Capriglione Campaign)

Prominent Texas state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) has been accused of having a 17-year affair with an exotic dancer, who says the anti-reproductive rights lawmaker paid for multiple abortions for “his own personal gain.”

Last Friday, conservative media outlet Current Revolt released a 25-minute interview with Capriglione’s accuser Alex Grace.

The interview was published three days after Capriglione unexpectedly announced that he would not seek an eighth term in 2026.

During the interview, Grace alleged that Capriglione paid for meetups at his office, gifts and for several abortion procedures. In response, Capriglione, a staunchly anti-abortion legislator who has been married since 2000 and has three children, admitted to having an affair but reportedly said he had “never, nor would I ever, pay for an abortion.”

In 2021, Capriglione authored House Bill 1280, which bans abortion in nearly every scenario with no exceptions for rape or incest. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), and it went into effect after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Anyone found guilty of providing an abortion after six weeks can face imprisonment of up to 99 years.

The Texas Legislature is currently holding a special session where Capriglione and his colleagues are attempting to further gerrymander the state’s congressional maps to prevent the Republican Party from losing control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans are expected to face a tough road in defending their slim 219-212 majority after President Donald Trump has led efforts to slash social safety net programs, implement cost-increasing tariffs and continuously lie about the Epstein file scandal.