DALLAS — Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson confirmed in a statement Thursday that he and his wife of 16 years are divorcing, but he said that he wanted to keep additional details about the proceedings private until they were finalized.
Johnson's statement was issued in response to new details about the divorce reported by D Magazine, which covered the proceedings Wednesday.
D Magazine reported that Johnson's wife, Nakita Johnson, alleged in court that her husband had an affair with a City of Dallas employee, and that she "caught" him being unfaithful with the staffer at their house in 2021. According to D Magazine's report of her testimony, the mayor allegedly admitted to the affair when his wife confronted him about it.
In his own testimony, D Magazine reported, the mayor denied having an affair.
Johnson's statement to WFAA on Thursday did not acknowledge the allegations of an affair. He did, however, say that he regrets "that this process has come to a point at which others have been dragged into a private family dispute over the division of assets."
Johnson said he filed for divorce from his wife last year. The case is now in the "final stages" of proceedings, he said in his statement.
"As many who have been through the end of a marriage can understand, this has been an especially painful and messy process -- and it is even more challenging to have this process play out publicly," Johnson's statement read.
Johnson added in his statement that he wanted to keep his divorce proceedings private for "the well-being of my three amazing children."
"Beyond this difficult moment, [Nakita Johnson] will always be the mother of our children, whom I love very much," Johnson said. "They will continue to be my focus, and for their sake, I am asking for prayers and requesting privacy."
At the crux of the allegations reported by D Magazine on Wednesday was Nakita Johnson's reported testimony, in which she alleged catching Johnson being unfaithful with a city staffer at the Johnson household in February 2021. Her attorneys reportedly entered into evidence footage from the Johnsons' home doorbell camera that showed the woman, who was then an employee of the city, arriving and leaving the Johnson's home, D Magazine reported.
That footage was not shown in court, and Nakita Johnson reportedly did not detail what she saw during her testimony. But when asked if her husband had been unfaithful, she told the court yes, according to D Magazine.
A source familiar with the situation told WFAA that several city staffers often worked out of the mayor's home while Dallas City Hall was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the D Magazine report, the mayor admitted in his testimony that he and the woman shared a hotel room during a trip to the Ritz Carlton in Montreal, but claimed that the two slept in separate beds. According to D's report, the mayor testified that the trip (which also took the pair to New York) occurred after the mayor had filed for divorce and after the woman was no longer employed by the City of Dallas.
After leaving her position with the City of Dallas, the woman who was alleged to have had an affair with the mayor launched a consulting firm -- one that, campaign finance reports show, Mayor Johnson employed as part of his re-election campaign in 2023.
D Magazine reports that attorneys representing the mayor's wife entered the payments between the campaign and the consulting firm -- independently confirmed by WFAA to have totaled $113,464.86 over a seven-month span -- into court's evidence to support claims of "personal and professional relationships" between the mayor and his former staffer.
Mayor Johnson ran unopposed in that election.
D Magazine did not name the woman with whom Johnson was accused of having an affair. But the woman, in a statement to the publication, denied the allegations and said that she did not know that her name or actions were involved in the couple's divorce proceedings.
WFAA reached out to Nakita Johnson's divorce attorneys for comment on the proceedings and allegations, but has yet to receive a response.
Several Dallas councilmembers declined to comment to WFAA on Johnson's pending divorce.
Council member Adam Bazaldua said in a statement to WFAA that he does "not have any comments regarding the personal lives of my colleagues."
"At this time, our concern should be focused on what we can do to move our City forward," Bazaldua added. "With a current affordable housing crisis, a bond vote coming up, and the city charter review, my concerns are with how I can ensure my constituents are represented in these important decisions. I wish the Johnsons well during this difficult time."
A petition to recall Mayor Johnson from office, citing his switching of parties from Democrat to Republican as well as his less-than-perfect attendance record at city council meetings (as reported by KERA), is currently actively seeking signatures.
As of last week, its organizers said they had collected 6,000 signatures in support of their effort, but that they remain well shy of the 103,595 required by March 5, according to the city charter, in order to present such a resolution to council.
