Eric Swalwell’s Wife of 9 Years Feels Blindsided by His ‘Double Life’ After Sexual Assault Allegations (Exclusive)

A source who knows the couple tells PEOPLE that Brittany Watts is “strong, successful and very capable of leaving” Swalwell after she was spotted without her wedding ring

Eric Swalwell and Brittany Watts in January 2026.Credit : 

Eric Swalwell/Instagram

Eric Swalwell’s wife of nine years, Brittany Watts, is trying to take things “day by day” after being blindsided by the accusations of sexual abuse against him.

A source who knows the couple, who wed in 2016, tells PEOPLE that there’s “no way” she knew anything about the allegations of sexual misconduct against her husband before they became public last month.

On April 12, former congressman Swalwell, 45, suspended his campaign for governor of California after multiple women accused him of inappropriate behavior ranging from sending lewd, unwanted messages to drugging, raping and choking them.

Though Swallwell has denied the allegations against him, Watts, 41, was recently spotted without her wedding ring, and the source confirms to PEOPLE that the couple are living separately, with Watts staying with their three children: Nelson, 8, Cricket, 7, and Hank, 4.

Watts “would never condone or excuse any of Eric’s behavior in any way,” the source says. “She’s focused on protecting her children and navigating this excruciating situation as best she can.”

“It’s very clear Eric was incredibly strategic at living a double life — he had everyone fooled,” the source continues.

The initial allegations against Swalwell emerged on April 10, when he was accused of sexual assault by a former staffer, whose identity has not been made public, and three other women. A few days later, two of the accusers — Annika Albrecht and Ally Sammarco — gave a joint interview to CBS News alongside Cheyenne Hunt, a political social media influencer, whose videos about the allegations against Swalwell went viral.

Just a few days after the interview aired, Hunt said she had heard from more than 30 women who claimed to have similar stories of their own experiences with the Democratic lawmaker.

Eric Swalwell attends the SEIU-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW)’s Gubernatorial Candidate Worker Forum at Meruelo Studios in Los Angeles, California, on January 10, 2026.ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP via Getty

“The whole thing has been deeply devastating,” the source tells PEOPLE, saying that Watts has been “taking things day by day and prioritizing stability and privacy for her children above everything else.”

“She had no knowledge of what was happening and is grappling with the same shock, hurt and disbelief that people close to the family are feeling,” the source adds. “She’s been handling this with dignity and discretion — I’m sure for the sake of her children.”

The source says Watts “is extremely strong, successful and very capable of leaving him.”

Swalwell apologized to his wife in the statements he released upon suspending his gubernatorial campaign. One day later, he resigned from Congress, where he’d represented California’s 14th and 15th districts since 2013.

“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” he wrote in his X announcement. “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

His concessions weren’t quite enough for Sammarco and the other accusers who had gone public. “He was pushed into a corner, essentially, because they were planning to expel him…so I think he did that to save face a little,” she said. “But I also felt very vindicated that he realized it was over for him.”

Their CBS News interview also had the effect of motivating a woman named Lonna Drewes to testify with what might be the most damning accusations against Swalwell. In a press conference one day after the interview aired, Drewes came forward and tearfully accused Swalwell of spiking her drink at a hotel in 2018 before taking her up to his room.

“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness, and I thought I died,” she claimed.

Albrecht, Sammarco and Hunt didn’t identify Drewes by name, but suggested they’d heard similar accusations.

“It was terrifying to get on the phone with those women and hear their stories about how they were drinking with him and suddenly woke up in bed next to him with no recollection of how they got there,” Albrecht said.

They’ve said their goal is not politically motivated. They simply want to protect the women who could have been future victims.

“I think we just prevented another 30 to 40 years, potentially, of him harming people if he were to stay in Congress,” Sammarco said. “As governor, he would have had even more power and more authority. And he would have felt vindicated too, you know, that he could run for higher office.”

Albrecht agreed, saying, “For me, justice won’t be until he can’t ever harm a woman ever again, and he has faced the consequences for the women that he has harmed.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.