Former US Senator Kyrsten Sinema has acknowledged a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail, which began while she was a lawmaker.
This admission comes amidst a lawsuit from the man's former wife, who is seeking financial damages and blames Sinema for the breakdown of her marriage.
The North Carolina federal court litigation has been brought by Heather Ammel, who contends she and her husband, Matthew, shared "a good and loving marriage" and "genuine love and affection" before Sinema allegedly interfered, pursuing him despite knowing he was married.
In a signed declaration filed this week as part of a lawsuit response, Sinema stated her relationship with Matthew Ammel "became romantic and intimate" at the end of May 2024.
It then became "physically intimate" over the subsequent months, with encounters occurring in California, New York, Colorado, Arizona, and Washington, D.C. The Ammels separated in November 2024, according to the lawsuit.
Sinema’s legal team argues she should not be subject to the lawsuit, asserting that the marriage was "already over" when her relationship with Matthew Ammel intensified.
Her attorney, Steven Epstein, wrote that Sinema’s "conduct related to her romantic relationship with Mr. Ammel does not connect her to North Carolina in a meaningful way," adding that no jury would believe a single message she sent "had any bearing on the destruction of marital love and affection."
However, Heather Ammel’s lawsuit claims she discovered messages of "romantic and lascivious natures" between Sinema and her husband on the Signal app in early 2024.
It further alleges that Matthew Ammel stopped wearing his wedding ring that summer, and Sinema subsequently gave him a job on her Senate staff while he continued to serve as her bodyguard.
North Carolina is one of a handful of US states that permit "alienation of affection" lawsuits, allowing aggrieved spouses to seek damages from a third party deemed responsible for the dissolution of their marriage.
Sinema, who represented Arizona in both the US House and Senate for one term that concluded early last year, declined to seek re-election to the Senate in 2024.
She had previously left the Democratic Party to register as an independent. She now works for a Washington-based legal and lobbying firm.
