Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has admitted under oath that she repeatedly engaged in sexual relations with her then-married security guard while serving in the United States Senate, a revelation now central to a federal lawsuit accusing her of destroying a 14-year marriage.
According to Fox News, the former Democrat-turned-independent, who left office at the beginning of last year, is being sued by the guards ex-wife, Heather Ammel, under North Carolinas alienation-of-affection statute. The lawsuit alleges that Sinemas affair with security officer Matthew Ammel shattered the Ammels long-term marriage and family life, raising serious questions about the personal judgment and ethical standards of an elected official who once campaigned on accountability and public trust.
Heather Ammel initially filed the case in a North Carolina state court, invoking the states long-standing legal remedy that allows spouses to seek damages from third parties who interfere in a marriage. Sinemas legal team responded by moving the case to federal court and then seeking dismissal, arguing that her relationship with Matthew Ammel unfolded outside North Carolina and that the federal court lacks personal jurisdiction over her.
Sinema, who is unmarried, detailed the affair in a July 31 deposition taken at a law office in Raleigh, North Carolina. She testified that she first had sex with Ammel around Memorial Day 2024, placing the beginning of the relationship squarely within her term in federal office and while Ammel was still married with children.
"We were staying at an Airbnb in Napa, California. We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and had sex," Sinema said in her deposition, describing the first encounter in candid terms that leave little ambiguity about the nature of the relationship.
Sinema testified that she and Ammel were staying at the Napa property with her friends Penny and Grant Croissant, along with another member of her security detail, suggesting that the affair unfolded in close proximity to both personal acquaintances and professional staff. The account underscores how the relationship blurred the lines between Sinemas official security arrangements and her private conduct.
Their next encounter came in June, when Sinema said she attended the wedding of CNN anchor Jessica Dean in New York City. She and Ammel had separate hotel rooms but were "intimate" in Sinema's room, she said in the deposition, indicating that the affair continued during official or semi-official travel.
In mid-July, the two had sex at her Washington, D.C., apartment after taking a red-eye flight from the West Coast, Sinema said, according to the transcript. That testimony places the affair inside the nations capital, again during a period when she was still serving as a U.S. senator and Ammel remained a married father.
By mid-August, Sinema and Ammel had taken their relationship to Aspen, Colorado, for what she described as a "fundraising trip." She testified that she had sex with him again during that trip, a detail that raises further concerns about the use of political travel and donor-related events as a backdrop for a clandestine affair.
Sinema said she could not recall another alleged sexual encounter with Ammel in Washington, D.C., in late September, though Ammel confirmed that incident in his own deposition. The affair, by Sinemas own account, continued into October 2024, when the two had sex at Sinema's house in Phoenix, extending the relationship across multiple states and several months.
Throughout these encounters, Sinema acknowledged that she knew Ammel had three children and was married. That admission is likely to weigh heavily in a North Carolina courtroom, where alienation-of-affection claims often turn on whether the third party knowingly intruded upon an existing marriage.
During her deposition, a lawyer pressed Sinema about a photo she texted to Ammel of herself in a towel. "I'm an endurance athlete. So a photograph of me with cupping marks is about sports," Sinema responded, saying she didn't specifically recall a photo of herself in a towel that she sent, an answer that may do little to reassure a jury evaluating the nature of their communications.
In another message to Ammel, Sinema wrote, "Putting my hand on your heart. I'll see you soon. I miss you." The tone of that message, read in the context of a secret relationship with a married man, is likely to be a focal point for Heather Ammels legal team as they argue that Sinema knowingly intruded on a marriage and emotional bond.
"You understand, Ms. Sinema, don't you, that a wife reading this might get concerned about who is sending her husband that kind of message referring to putting his her hand on his heart? Can you see that?" the lawyer asked. Sinema said, "Yes," a concession that may bolster the plaintiffs claim that Sinema understood the likely impact of her actions on the Ammel household.
Heather Ammel also sat for a deposition in the case and described how she first uncovered the affair. She recalled discovering the relationship when her husband came home "severely intoxicated" while they were staying at her parent's house, according to her testimony, a moment that appears to have shattered her trust and triggered a deeper search into his communications.
In the deposition, Heather Ammel read aloud a message she discovered on her husband's phone from Sinema. "I hope your day was okay. Thinking of you. I am with you. I keep waking up during my sleep and reaching over for your arms to hold me," the message read, with a screenshot of the exchange later appearing in court filings as documentary evidence of the emotional intimacy between Sinema and Ammel.
In a text message she sent to her husband in June 2024, Heather Ammel described Sinema as "insidious" and "a woman who is willing to break up a family." Her words reflect not only personal anguish but also a broader concern many Americans share about public officials who preach about families and community while privately disregarding marital vows and the stability of childrens lives.
Later in the deposition, Heather Ammel testified that her husband is an "established liar and manipulator," adding that she thought he was "actively manipulating" her and Sinema. That characterization suggests a deeply dysfunctional marital dynamic, but it does not erase the fact that Sinema, by her own admission, chose to pursue a relationship with a man she knew to be married with three children.
The Ammels separated on Nov. 1, 2024, and their divorce was finalized in March 2026, according to court records, marking the formal end of a 14-year marriage that had already been strained beyond repair. In the case against Sinema, there will be an evidentiary hearing on Aug. 19, per court documents, a proceeding that will test not only the strength of North Carolinas alienation-of-affection law but also the willingness of the legal system to hold a former U.S. senator accountable for conduct that many Americans, particularly social conservatives, view as a direct assault on the sanctity of marriage and the integrity expected of public servants.
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