What's Up With Nestor, Matt Gaetz's 'Adopted' Son?

A few years ago Matt Gaetz was the gift that kept on giving in terms of political scandals, which makes Trump choosing him to be the next Attorney General appear to be an Onion parody-made-real. As the New York Times reports, Gaetz resigned from Congress yesterday, effectively ending the investigation by the House Ethics Committee into his sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. "Now, with Mr. Gaetz's departure from Congress, the committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him. It was not immediately clear whether it would still release its findings. Tom Rust, the chief counsel and staff director for the panel, declined to comment."

Gaetz's numerous malfeasances were chronicled by The Daily Beast yesterday, but one of the most curious was one EDGE wrote in 2020: his relationship with his "adopted" son Nestor. It came about in 2020 when Gaetz had a heated argument with Democratic representative Cedric Richmond (from Louisiana) over parenting in these uneasy times. EDGE wrote at the time, that Gaetz became infuriated because Richmond suggested that Republicans in the room did not parent "children of color."

"Are you suggesting that you're certain that none of us have nonwhite children?" Gaetz said. Adding: "You're claiming you have more concern for my family than I do? Who in the hell do you think you are?"

To prove his point, Gaetz produced Nestor. "What was not known at the time of the exchange was that the unmarried, 38-year old Gaetz had a son," EDGE wrote at the time.

"Gaetz was unmarried and–as far as the public knew–childless at the time, so many were left scratching their heads after his exchange with Richmond," writes The Daily Beast. "That same day, however, the Florida congressman took to Twitter to post a photo of someone he described as "my son Nestor," a 19-year-old from Cuba who'd apparently lived with him for six years. 'We share no blood but he is my life,' Gaetz said. He also emphasized in his post that Nestor came to Florida 'legally.'"

Gaetz told People Magazine at the time. The pair met in 2014 when Gaetz was dating Nestor's older sister. At that time, Nestor was 12-years old and had "just arrived from Cuba, where he'd grown up and where his mother had recently died of breast cancer, Gaetz told People magazine.

"And so Nestor moved in with them – 'a modern family,' Gaetz says now."

But Gaetz explained that he has not formally adopted Nestor.

"Our relationship as a family is defined by our love for each other, not by any paperwork," he told People."I just think that it's been the greatest thing in my life that this young man has been a part of my family and going forward I look forward to being his biggest cheerleader."

But, People adds: "Perhaps the strangest thing about this story is that this is the first time any of it has been shared publicly."

Gaetz and Nestor (whose full name is Nestor Galban) then appeared on the Tucker Carlson Show to lambast Richmond.

"It is certainly offensive to have someone tell you that you don't know what a certain experience is like when they know nothing about you," Gaetz said. "Nestor is the light of my life. I couldn't imagine loving him anymore if he was my own flesh and blood."

Nestor explained that he knew nothing about the exchange between Gaetz and Richmond.

"I woke up to seeing all these tweets and I was like what is going on?" I think it's unfair to tell someone that they don't understand because of their racial color," Nestor said, adding that it is hypocritical to claim to fight for equality while dividing by race.

While Gaetz broke up with Galban's older sister, he continued to live with Gaetz, the then congressman told People.

As to why Gaetz never formally adopted Nestor may have to do with the fact that his father is alive and well, according to a report in The Root. "Matt Gaetz claims that Nestor is his adopted son. There are no adoption papers to support this claim, and Nestor has a whole-ass father who is alive and well and hasn't given his son up for adoption. Yet, no one has truly questioned the nature of this adoptive relationship that doesn't include an actual adoption."

Gaetz even acknowledged that after four years of living with him, Nestor had lived with his biological father in Miami for his junior year of high school. "Then he turned 18 [and] it was easier for him to just move back with me."

While some on social media claim that Nestor's mom never died in the first place.

What was largely unreported four years ago were social media reports that Galban's mother had not died of cancer, as Gaetz claimed, but was alive and in Cuba.

An X user named Jose (@josecanyousee) located a response from a post on a 2019 post on Galban's Facebook page that appears to be a response from his mother. In the pic, Galban is seen with Gaetz at a Trump Tower event, with a woman named Marbelina Matos commenting: "How beautiful. my youngest son, you look great. Kisses."

At this time, Nestor Galban has little social media presence. He hasn't posted on X in two years and on Instagram there are two accounts that appear to be associated with him, one private and one public consisting largely of photos from his teenage years.

According to 2023 report from Heavy.com, Galban is a student at Troy University, according to his Instagram account. Earlier he told People that he enjoys "helping people and I think every day being able to save people's lives and being able to heal people and take care of them makes me happy."

Heavy adds, "Galban's college experience was altered due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gaetz brought up that point during an appearance on Fox News on March 22. Clips posted on social media showed Gaetz explaining, 'My son is a college freshman. He had no real graduation, no prom, and I struggled with whether or not to allow him to enjoy spring break at Panama City beach. I allowed him to have an abbreviated one.'"