Former Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema has been accused in a lawsuit of having an affair with her former bodyguard, an alleged relationship that reportedly led to the breakdown of his marriage.
The suit, filed in North Carolina by Heather Ammel, claims Sinema deliberately interfered in her marriage to Matthew Ammel, a retired U.S. Army veteran who joined Sinema’s Senate security team in April 2022. According to the filing, Ammel frequently accompanied the senator on domestic and international trips and attended multiple concerts with her.
Heather Ammel alleges she discovered early in 2024 that Sinema and her husband were exchanging intimate messages via an encrypted messaging app. The lawsuit further claims Sinema provided financial and professional support to Matthew, including covering medical treatment and later offering him a paid role in her Senate office, during which time he stopped wearing his wedding ring.
The suit states that after continued private exchanges and a joint work trip to Saudi Arabia in November 2024, Matthew moved out of the family home, leading to the couple’s separation.
Filed in Moore County late last year, the case gained renewed attention after Sinema recently requested it be transferred from state to federal court. Heather Ammel is seeking $25,000 in damages under North Carolina’s “alienation of affection” law, which allows third parties to be sued for allegedly causing the collapse of a marriage.
Sinema, who left Congress after the 2024 election, had announced her retirement earlier that year after serving as a Democrat-turned-independent senator.