Kyrsten Sinema Confirms Affair With Senate Bodyguard While Fighting 'Alienation of Affection' Lawsuit
The former Arizona senator kept her private life locked down through six years in the Senate. That changed Thursday. Kyrsten Sinema — now 49, two years removed from office — confirmed in court filings that she had an affair with her married Senate bodyguard, Matthew Ammel, while still serving in Washington. The admission came not as a confession, but as a legal strategy.
What Sinema Admitted — and Why She Did It
Sinema admitted for the first time Thursday that she had a romantic relationship with Matthew Ammel, a married bodyguard who worked on her Senate security detail. She made the admission in a 23-page memorandum filed by her attorneys while asking the judge to dismiss an "alienation of affection" lawsuit filed by Ammel's ex-wife, Heather Ammel.
The legal logic is precise. Sinema argues the lawsuit should be tossed because the relationship did not take place in North Carolina — where Heather filed the suit — and therefore the court has no jurisdiction over her.
"Defendant and Mr. Ammel began a romantic relationship in May 2024," states the memorandum. That affair began in Sonoma, California, with additional trysts in New York City, Washington, Aspen, and Phoenix.
The Timeline: Las Vegas, Signal Messages, and a U2 Concert
The lawsuit details how the relationship reportedly began. Heather Ammel alleges that Sinema first asked Matthew to be her security while she attended a U2 concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas in December 2023. Matthew brought his wife on that trip — but afterward, Heather says she began noticing her husband and Sinema texting more frequently on the encrypted messaging app Signal, with messages she described as exceeding the bounds of a normal working relationship.
Sinema says the physical relationship began in late May 2024 — about five months before Matthew separated from his wife, Heather Ammel. The Ammels' separation came in November 2024. Heather filed for divorce in March 2025.
The North Carolina Jurisdiction Defense — and One Signal Message That Cuts Against It
Sinema's motion argues the court lacks jurisdiction because she "did not purposefully direct any conduct into North Carolina" and was only in the state once during the affair — for a campaign event in Charlotte.
The filing cuts close to the edge on one point. Sinema acknowledges sending one romantic Signal message in mid-October 2024 that reached Matthew while he was in North Carolina. The message read: "I miss you. Putting my hand on your heart." Her attorneys argue this was "random and fortuitous" rather than deliberate — and that by then, the marriage was already over.
What North Carolina's Law Actually Allows
The legal exposure is real. North Carolina is one of the few remaining states with an "alienation of affection" law — allowing a wronged spouse to sue a third party for interfering with or destroying their marriage. A TikTok influencer was ordered to pay nearly $2 million under the same law as recently as November 2025.
Heather Ammel is seeking at least $25,000 from Sinema. The next filing deadline in the case is April 2. Most alienation of affection cases settle before reaching trial — the ones that don't are known for multimillion-dollar judgments.
Life After the Senate
Sinema left office in January 2025 after declining to seek reelection, having alienated Democrats by refusing to eliminate the filibuster and later registering as an independent. She recently joined the Washington Reporter as a contributing columnist, with the center-right outlet describing her column as an inside look at consequential policy debates aimed at a bipartisan audience.
Campaign finance records show that between October and December 2024 — months before she left office — her campaign spent $241,000 in security-related expenses. Between March and June 2025, months after leaving office, she spent $616 in Aspen on an item labeled "security detail ski tickets."
