Amy Gertner, wife of Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner, has confirmed that her husband exchanged sexually explicit messages with other women during their marriage. The revelation comes after the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner shared this information with Platner's campaign last year.
Platner, an oyster farmer and former US Marine, is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Maine after his main rival, Janet Mills, suspended her campaign. He is challenging five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins and has attracted progressive support, but also controversy over past racist, sexist and homophobic online posts, as well as a tattoo of a Nazi symbol.
According to reports, after Platner launched his campaign last August, his team conducted opposition research. Gertner told the campaign's then political director, Genevieve McDonald, that she had found explicit texts on her husband's phone in spring 2025. The couple entered marriage counselling, and campaign aides decided the matter was private.
In a statement released by Platner's campaign, Gertner said she was 'deeply hurt' that McDonald shared the details with reporters. 'I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend,' she said. She added that the couple worked through the issue and their marriage is now 'stronger than ever'.
McDonald told the New York Times: 'The United States Senate is not a training ground for redemption. It is a place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.' She was one of three campaign officials who resigned after details of Platner's tattoo and social media posts emerged in October.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Platner has an active account on the messaging platform Kik, which is sometimes used for sexting. The account, under the username phustle0331, features a profile picture of a shirtless man with tattoos matching Platner's.
