Former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has confirmed she engaged in a romantic relationship with one of her bodyguards while serving in Congress, according to court filings in a federal lawsuit.
The legal battle is taking place in a North Carolina federal courthouse, where Heather Ammel is seeking monetary compensation from Sinema. Ammel claims the former lawmaker destroyed her marriage to Matthew Ammel.
In her lawsuit, Heather Ammel describes having “a good and loving marriage” with “genuine love and affection” before Sinema’s interference. She alleges Sinema pursued her husband despite being aware of his marital status.
Court documents show Sinema filed a sworn statement on March 7, confirming her connection with Matthew Ammel “became romantic and intimate” starting in late May 2024. She detailed that their relationship turned “physically intimate” over subsequent months across multiple states including California, New York, Colorado, Arizona and Washington, D.C. The couple’s separation occurred in November 2024.
North Carolina remains among the few states permitting “alienation of affection” lawsuits, where betrayed spouses can pursue financial damages from third parties they hold responsible for destroying their marriages.
Sinema’s legal team disputes Heather Ammel’s claims that the former senator made calls and sent digital messages to Matthew while he was in North Carolina with his family. Sinema’s lawyer Steven Epstein stated she only sent Matthew one message after he had secured separate housing “when the marriage was already over.”
“Sinema’s conduct related to her romantic relationship with Mr. Ammel does not connect her to North Carolina in a meaningful way,” Epstein argued Thursday in his motion for dismissal. He added that no reasonable jury would find the single message “had any bearing on the destruction of marital love and affection.”
According to the lawsuit, Sinema’s security chief brought Matthew Ammel onto the team following his military retirement in 2022. Early in 2024, Heather Ammel discovered romantic and explicit messages between her husband and Sinema on the Signal messaging platform. That summer, Matthew stopped wearing his wedding band and received a position on Sinema’s Senate staff while maintaining his bodyguard duties.
The case initially appeared in North Carolina state court in late 2024 before transferring to federal jurisdiction in January.
Sinema chose not to run for Senate reelection in 2024 after a controversial term where she abandoned the Democratic Party to serve as an independent. She currently works for a Washington-based legal and lobbying company.
