According to the San Jose Mercury News, she said at the time she wanted to focus on her family and resolve personal issues. Mrs Lockyer said at the time: 'We're married. There's no talk of changing that. We're committed to our son.' The sordid details of the political power couple began to leak out last February when Mrs Lockyer called police to a hotel where she was staying to report that she had been assaulted by her former lover, a convicted felon whom she met in rehab for addiction.
A police investigation revealed an ongoing relationship between Mrs Lockyer and construction worker Steve Chikhani, including explicit text messages and pictures sent between the two but he was never charged. Mr Lockyer was also reportedly sent a sex tape of his wife and lover and Mrs Lockyer revealed that they had been together for a year before she ended the relationship. Mr Lockyer filed for divorce in July, citing 'irreconcilable differences' in the legal papers and just hours after being served, Mrs Lockyer ran her car off the road and hit a tree.
Police received a tip last week that led them to a house where Mrs Lockyer was staying with relatives, district attorney's spokeswoman Farrah Emami said. The woman was not home, but officers found methamphetamine and paraphernalia used for smoking it. Later, when they found Mrs Lockyer, she showed 'objective signs' of meth intoxication and she was arrested. Mrs Lockyer pleaded not guilty in court on August 30, 2012, to a felony count of drug possession, two misdemeanor drug charges and one misdemeanor count of child abuse, because she is alleged to have kept the drugs in the home with her son.
She was released after acknowledging she needed to check in to a drug rehab center and is due back in court on Monday. 'Nadia recognizes her error and is in the process of doing everything possible to regain her health,' said her attorney, Allan Stokke. Mrs Lockyer had made various accusations in the past of abandonment by her husband and that the divorce had been coming for some time. According to the San Francisco Chronicle she said at the time of their divorce: 'My husband and I have differed on how to protect the family,' she said. 'I feel he has abandoned me and my child, and it's created an unsafe circumstance.'
Even before her resignation from office, Mrs Lockyer publicly accused her husband of mistreatment. An email that appeared to be sent from Mrs Lockyer went to a newspaper, accusing her husband of supplying her with drugs, a claim he denies. 'I simply can't bear this any longer. Goodbye to everyone,' the note read, prompting the paper to call police, fearing for her safety.
At the time, Mrs Lockyer said, 'Alcoholism and addiction are diseases from which many of us suffer, and unfortunately, I have not been spared.' She later denied having sent the email and said Mr Chikhani hacked her account. However, a technology expert found the email was sent from Mrs Lockyer's phone and Mr Chikhani's lawyer said his client was at a highly controlled drug rehab facility with only supervised computer access at the time. A spokesman for Mr Lockyer denied the accusation, saying it was 'BS.'
When the the couple wed in 2003, Mrs Lockyer she was four years younger than Mr Lockyer's daughter from a previous marriage. However, they immediately became a political power couple. She was the daughter of a well-known Los Angeles-area lawyer and she had made a name for herself working on political campaigns in Orange County.
