You’ve seen the photos. One is a graining image of a young, slicked-back Gavin Newsom—long before he was the Governor of California—and the other is Kimberly Guilfoyle, looking more like a Hollywood starlet than the MAGA firebrand she’s become today. They are sprawled out on a rug in an opulent mansion, looking like they just stepped off the set of a Bond film. It’s a jarring sight if you only know their current political identities.
Back in the early 2000s, they weren't just a couple; they were a movement. Before the bitter Twitter spats and the vastly different campaign trails, these two were the "it" couple of San Francisco. Looking at pictures of Kimberly Guilfoyle and Gavin Newsom from that era feels like looking at a parallel universe where the red-blue divide hadn't quite hardened into a wall.
The Famous Harper’s Bazaar Rug Photo
If you search for images of these two, one specific shot dominates: the 2004 Harper’s Bazaar spread. It’s legendary for all the wrong (and right) reasons. In the photo, the couple is lying on a plush rug in the home of Ann and Gordon Getty. Gavin is in a tuxedo with his collar unbuttoned—very "James Bond after a long night"—while Kimberly is draped beside him in a sleek gown.
The headline? "The New Kennedys."
Honestly, the nickname stuck for a while. They were young, they were telegenic, and they seemed like the future of the Democratic party. At the time, Kimberly was a prosecutor, and Gavin was the freshly minted Mayor of San Francisco. Looking back, the photo feels almost surreal. It represents a level of glamor and bipartisan-adjacent social climbing that seems impossible in today’s political climate. Kimberly later mentioned that the photographer, Dewey Nicks, suggested the "floor thing" because he wanted something warm and intimate.
💡 You might also like: Danny DeVito Wife Height: What Most People Get Wrong
A Wedding Fit for San Francisco Royalty
Their 2001 wedding was the social event of the year in the Bay Area. They tied the knot at St. Ignatius Church, and the guest list was a who's who of California power players. Interestingly, Kimberly didn't just marry into the elite; she was already deeply embedded in it. Before Gavin, she had dated Billy Getty, Gavin’s childhood best friend. In fact, at her wedding to Newsom, she wore a tiara belonging to Billy’s mother, Ann Getty.
The pictures from the wedding show a couple that seemed genuinely in sync. At the time, Newsom was a rising star on the Board of Supervisors, and Guilfoyle was a sharp Assistant District Attorney. They were the ultimate power duo, often seen at high-society fundraisers and political galas.
When the "First Lady" Was a Liberal Darling
It’s hard to imagine now, but there are plenty of pictures of Kimberly Guilfoyle and Gavin Newsom at events supporting causes that would make a modern Republican convention-goer shudder. During her time as the First Lady of San Francisco, Guilfoyle was a vocal supporter of Newsom’s then-radical decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004.
She even went on Charlie Rose with him, defending his progressive stance. In those videos, her vibe is "Jackie O" chic—subtle jackets, soft smiles, and a very polished, moderate-sounding delivery. She once told the press she was "100 percent" behind his marriage equality push. It’s a stark contrast to the high-decibel, "The Best is Yet to Come" speech style that defined her later years.
📖 Related: Mara Wilson and Ben Shapiro: The Family Feud Most People Get Wrong
The Bi-Coastal Breaking Point
By 2005, the "Camelot" dream was over. The photos from this period look different; there’s a distance. Kimberly had moved to New York to pursue a career in television, landing a gig at Court TV (and later Fox News), while Gavin stayed in San Francisco to run the city.
The couple blamed the "strain of a bi-coastal marriage" for their split. There was no prenuptial agreement, mostly because they didn't really need one—Newsom’s wealth was largely separate property from before the marriage. They filed for divorce in January 2005, and it was finalized in 2006.
"Unfortunately, the demands of our respective careers have made it too difficult for us to continue as a married couple," they said in a joint statement.
Why These Photos Still Fascinate Us
Why do we keep looking at these old pictures? It’s because they represent a massive "What If?" in American politics.
👉 See also: How Tall is Tim Curry? What Fans Often Get Wrong About the Legend's Height
- The Political Shift: Kimberly Guilfoyle’s transformation from a San Francisco liberal prosecutor to a top advisor for Donald Trump is one of the most dramatic ideological pivots in modern memory.
- The Newsom Trajectory: For Gavin, these photos are a reminder of his "moderate" business-friendly roots before he became a lightning rod for national conservative criticism.
- The Getty Connection: The photos highlight the deep-seated "old money" connections that fueled both of their early rises.
In 2023, Newsom admitted in an interview that he doesn't really talk to Kimberly anymore. He suggested she "fell prey" to the culture at Fox News. Kimberly, never one to back down, fired back that she didn't change—he did, claiming he moved too far to the "radical left."
Lessons from the Newsom-Guilfoyle Archive
If you're looking through these archives for anything more than nostalgia, there's a practical takeaway here about the nature of public image.
- Public Personas are Malleable: Careers change, and so do political leanings. What looks like a permanent "brand" today might be a distant memory in twenty years.
- Geography Matters: The "bi-coastal" struggle that ended their marriage is a real thing. Even with all the resources in the world, physical distance is a relationship killer.
- Images Live Forever: In the digital age, that "rug photo" will follow both of them for the rest of their careers, serving as a tool for critics on both sides to highlight perceived inconsistencies.
Whether you see them as a lost "Golden Couple" or just two ambitious people who outgrew each other, those old photos remain a fascinating time capsule of a very different California.
If you are researching the visual history of California politics, your next step should be to look into the Getty family archives. Many of the most famous photos of this era were taken at Getty-owned properties, which served as the unofficial headquarters for the San Francisco elite during the early 2000s.