Revealed: Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico's history of romantic trysts with young state House staffers includes aide he wooed with flowers, traded heart emojis and called his queen

By JOSH BOSWELL, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Published: 14:04, 6 June 2026 | Updated: 14:07, 6 June 2026 Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico has a penchant for dating former state House staffers, the Daily Mail can reveal.  The 37-year-old Democratic state representative's love life has been the subject of intrigue ever since news broke that he has been in a long-term relationship with his former chief of staff, Brianna Menard. But newly-unearthed social media posts show he also previously dated another young legislative aide, Irma Reyes, before calling it quits in 2021.   The revelation has caused Republicans to call foul, claiming his romancing of young House staffers may conflict with rules for Texas lawmakers. The former couple, who are believed to have started dating around 2019 when Reyes was 28, made no secret of their romance at the time, social media posts show.  Talarico once posted a photo on X of Reyes with pink lilies he sent for her birthday, called her ‘incredible’ and ‘queen’ in Spanish, and said he should start a fan club about her. His girlfriend, for her part, previously gushed that the Democrat ‘impresses me with his huge heart every day’, publicly sent him Valentine’s Day ideas and heart-eyed emojis, and posted pictures of her parents with him at the launch of his state House campaign. Reyes, who currently works in strategy and finance for the Texas House Democratic caucus, confirmed the tryst earlier this week after Talarico started copping heat over his dating history.  Texas Senate hopeful James Talarico previously dated  young legislative aide Irma Reyes before they called it quits in 2021 Reyes, who currently works in strategy and finance for the Texas House Democratic caucus, worked as a legislative assistant to Texas Representative Rafael Anchía at the time Talarico gifted Reyes a huge bouquet of flowers for her birthday in 2019, social media posts show ‘My private personal relationship with James Talarico ended five years ago. As such, I do not intend to comment on the matter and respectfully request privacy,’ she said in a statement posted on her private X account.   A spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign told the Daily Mail that Reyes ‘never worked for’ Talarico’s office.  Reyes worked as a legislative assistant to Texas Representative Rafael Anchía from November 2019 to March 2022, according to her biography on politics site Legistorm. Still, Republicans were quick to sound the alarm, calling for Talarico to come clean on his romantic history.      'James Talarico needs to be transparent with Texans about how many staffers he has been inappropriate with, including interns,' Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told the Daily Mail. 'Every Texas Democrat should be asked if they think it is acceptable for elected officials to pursue romantic relationships with their staff and interns.’ The Texas legislature has no explicit rule against relationships between lawmakers and their staffers but requires ‘appropriate workplace conduct’. The revelation of a second girlfriend working in the State House adds to growing intrigue around Talarico’s dating history, which he managed to keep firmly under wraps until last month. The former couple, who are believed to have started dating around 2019, made no secret of their romance at the time, social media posts show A spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign told the Daily Mail insisted Reyes ‘never worked for’ Talarico’s office after Republicans sounded the alarm over their relationship The Senate Democratic nominee finally divulged in a podcast interview last month that he was in a relationship with his former chief of staff – whom he was careful not to name. Reyes confirmed the tryst earlier this week after Talarico started copping heat over his dating history While his campaign spokesperson insisted the four-year relationship began after Menard moved out of his office, records suggest otherwise. Menard, 30, worked as Talarico’s legislative director from at least 2021 and was promoted to chief of staff in 2022, which is around the time his campaign said the couple started dating. In a now-deleted Instagram post from March 2022, Menard read a raunchy poem about a mysterious lover she implored to ‘let me kiss you endlessly’, reciting: ‘I’m stoned on your smile’ and ‘the wine tastes better on your lips’. It comes after the Daily Mail revealed Menard became a lobbyist in 2024 and has spent tens of thousands of dollars wining, dining and giving gifts to Talarico’s fellow state lawmakers, their staff and close family as part of her job for the Texas Medical Association. His relationship with the state lobbyist prompted backlash from Republicans given his role as an elected official. Talarico once posted a photo on X of Reyes with pink lilies he had sent for her birthday From at least 2019, he and Reyes, who was then age 28, were trading repeated heart-eyed emojis online and referring publicly to their romance The pair repeatedly gushed about each other on social media during their relationship ‘James Talarico cannot claim to fight for hardworking Texans while he is literally in bed with special interests,’ Kraft said.  Talarico's relationship with Menard began about a year after his romance with Reyes ended. From at least 2019, he and Reyes, who was then age 28, were trading repeated heart-eyed emojis online and referring publicly to their romance. ‘Happy birthday to the incredible Irma Reyes. I think she liked my flowers,’ he wrote in a June 8, 2019 tweet, followed by a heart-eyed emoji and a photo of the staffer smiling and holding a vase of pink lilies. Talarico's love life has been the subject of intrigue ever since news broke that he has been in a long-term relationship with his former chief of staff, Brianna Menard (pictured) The next year, he tweeted a painting he got her for her birthday, calling her ‘La Reina’, ‘the queen’ in Spanish. In February 2020, Reyes tweeted a link to a list of ‘Valentine’s Day ideas’, writing ‘hey, @JamesTalarico’ with a winking emoji. And in May that year she tweeted ‘Happy birthday to @jamestalarico! This man impressed me with his huge heart everyday’. He even met her parents when they showed up to his Texas house campaign launch in 2019, according to a photo posted on Facebook.  When Talarico posted a picture of himself at an event wearing a tuxedo in October 2019, Reyes commented ‘the tux in the middle’ with a heart-eyed emoji. 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