Former US senator Kyrsten Sinema has admitted in court filings to having a “romantic and intimate” relationship with a married man who served as a member of her security detail during her final year in office. The admission came in response to a lawsuit filed by Heather Ammel, who accuses Sinema of breaking up her marriage under North Carolina’s so-called “homewrecker” law.
In documents filed on 12 March, Sinema asked a federal judge to dismiss the case, arguing that she has no connection to North Carolina, where the bodyguard, Matthew Joseph Ammel, resided with his wife and children. She stated that she was “physically intimate” with Matthew in four states and Washington DC, but never in North Carolina. She also said that 100% of their phone calls and emails occurred when he was outside the state, and that she was unaware he lived in North Carolina until December 2023.
Sinema detailed half a dozen encounters, the first in Sonoma, California, in late May 2024, after she announced she would not seek re-election. Other encounters took place in New York, Washington DC, Aspen, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona. Heather Ammel’s lawsuit alleges that Sinema pursued Matthew despite knowing he was married, and that she discovered messages of a “romantic and lascivious nature”, including a photo of Sinema wrapped in a towel—an allegation Sinema denies.
The lawsuit also claims Sinema paid for psychedelic treatment for Matthew, a US army veteran with PTSD and other conditions. Sinema denies this, saying she has “no recollection” of such messages. Campaign finance documents show Matthew received nearly $9,000 in October from Sinema’s campaign committee, and a separate complaint accuses Sinema of improperly spending campaign funds on personal expenses, including payments to Matthew after she left office.
Sinema’s motion to dismiss notes that she attended a Taylor Swift concert with the Ammel family in Miami in October, though they stayed in separate hotel rooms. Days later, Matthew accompanied Sinema on a work trip to Saudi Arabia, after which the couple separated. North Carolina is one of few US states where spouses can sue a third party for alienation of affection, but Sinema argues the affair occurred “exclusively outside” the state.
