Existing research indicates that trust in political leaders is influenced not only by their performance in office but also by their personal conduct. Moral transgressions committed by political representatives are known to damage their public reputation. However, the literature has largely overlooked whether trust in political representatives is similarly affected by scandals involving their close relatives. Addressing this gap at the local level, this paper examines the reputational consequences of moral transgressions committed by mayors’ spouses.

Using a survey vignette experiment (N = 1,707), in which respondents are randomly exposed to hypothetical scenarios or a control condition, we investigate how different types of spousal misconduct, such as a luxurious lifestyle, adultery, and driving under the influence, affect trust in both female spouses and male mayors. The findings show that all forms of misconduct significantly reduce trust in spouses. For mayors, however, the spillover effects vary by type of transgression: trust declines most strongly when the spouse is associated with a luxurious lifestyle, whereas spousal adultery does not significantly reduce trust in the mayor.

Moreover, the results show systematic differences in responses. Conservative and liberal participants evaluate the scandals differently, and female respondents are, on average, more tolerant of spousal misconduct than male respondents. Overall, this study demonstrates that the private behavior of political elites’ relatives can influence voters’ trust, highlighting the importance of relational and gendered dimensions of political accountability and contributing to the broader literature on misconduct and political trust.