Nevada governor: Text messages not 'love notes'

CARSON CITY, Nevada (AP) -- The governor, who is seeking a divorce, apologized Wednesday for using a state-owned cell phone to send more than 860 text messages to a woman he says is a longtime friend.

Gov. Jim Gibbons sent the messages over several weeks last year to the estranged wife of a Reno doctor.

Gibbons' wife, Dawn, has accused him of seeking to end their marriage because of his "infatuation and involvement" with the wife of a Reno doctor. That woman, however, has not been named by Dawn Gibbons or her lawyer.

On Wednesday, the governor said the text messages were not "love notes."

He said the messages ranged from discussions of state matters to "what's happening with her to her kids, what the latest issue is with her dog." He also said most of the messages were sent after his usual office hours. Watch how Gibbons' divorce erupted into a scandal »

Gibbons has been seen in Reno several times with the woman since his marital troubles became public last month. The first-term Republican governor said during a brief news conference Wednesday that he is no longer spending time with the woman "because of the stress and all of this. The media has put a tremendous burden on her."

Records obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal revealed the existence of the text messages, but not their content.

Gibbons said it was a mistake to use a state cell phone and run up bills totaling $130.

"When I realized the state was getting charged for it, I immediately ceased and paid the bills when they came due," he said.

Gibbons declined to go into detail about the text-messaging.

"I don't recall, a year-and-a-half worth of time having lapsed in this," he said. "I'm not going to talk about it because they do relate directly to the divorce."

The 63-year-old governor filed for divorce from his wife after nearly 22 years of marriage.

On Monday, attorneys for both spouses said the divorce proceedings were being put on hold and they would live separately on the governor's mansion grounds while they try to resolve issues in the case.

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