Raleigh, North Carolina— Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has acknowledged a past romantic relationship with her former bodyguard in a legal motion seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the guard’s ex-wife in North Carolina.
The lawsuit centers on North Carolina’s “alienation of affection” law, which allows a spouse to seek damages if a third party is accused of interfering with a marriage. Heather Ammel filed the case in a county court in September 2025, claiming Sinema’s relationship with bodyguard Matthew Ammel contributed to the breakdown of their marriage.
According to court filings, the relationship began in May 2024 while Sinema was still serving in Congress and while Matthew Ammel remained married. The couple separated about five months later. The lawsuit was later moved to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina after attorneys argued the dispute involved a former member of Congress.
Sinema’s legal team is asking the court to dismiss the case, arguing the relationship occurred outside North Carolina and therefore falls outside the jurisdiction of the state’s alienation of affection statute. Her attorney, Steven Epstein, wrote in the filing that phone calls and messages cited by the plaintiff did not occur while Ammel was in the state.
The defense also argues that a single romantic message allegedly sent after the couple had already separated does not establish legal jurisdiction or prove the marriage was still intact at that time.
Sinema left the Senate after one term in 2024 and now works as a senior adviser at the Washington-based law and lobbying firm Hogan Lovells.
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