Brazilian claiming to be Santos’ ex-boyfriend says congressman only ever cared about ‘fame and power’

Pedro Vilarva appeared on CNN to discuss his relationship with the embattled Mr Santos

A Brazilian individual claiming to be Rep George Santos’ ex-boyfriend appeared on CNN and said that Mr Santos only ever cared about “fame and power” and that he expects him to continue to reject calls for his resignation.

Pedro Vilarva has previously said that he entered into a romantic relationship with Mr Santos in 2014 when he was just 18 years old and the future Congressman was 26 — and that their relationship was full of dishonesty on Mr Santos’ part.

The Republican, elected to the US House in November and sworn in earlier this month, is facing an avalanche of claims that he lied about various aspects of his identity and past and engaged in questionable campaign finance practices.

Mr Vilarva, who made his first televised appearance to talk about Mr Santos on Out Front with Erin Burnett on Thursday evening, has been increasingly vocal about his experiences with the congressman in recent weeks. According to a party invitation written by Mr Santos and obtained by The Daily Beast, the two men were engaged in 2014 while Mr Santos was still married to his now ex-wife.

He told CNN: “What he always looked for was fame and power, that’s all he cared about, and he got it”, adding “I think he’s just out of his mind and one lie led to another ..... I think he should not be in Congress.”

“He used to say he would get money from Citigroup, he was an investor,” Mr Vilarva toldThe New York Times in a separate article. “One day it’s one thing, one day it’s another thing. He never ever actually went to work.”

According to Mr Vilarva, the pair’s relationship began to crumble in 2015 when Mr Santos surprised him with plane tickets to Hawai’i that turned out to not actually exist. Around that same time, Mr Vilarva discovered that his cell phone was missing and came to believe that Mr Santos had sold it for his own profit.

“I woke up in the morning, and I packed my stuff all in trash bags, and I called my father and I left,” Mr Vilarva told The Times of leaving the relationship.

In his CNN appearance, Mr Vilarva said that he does not expect Mr Santos to resign and believes he will attempt to hang onto power unless forced from the House.

CNN previously reported that Mr Santos admitted to stealing a checkbook that was in his mother’s possession while in Brazil in 2008. Mr Santos has made a number of statements that many now believe warrant further investigation, including that he survived an assassination attempt and was targeted because he was a Republican.