Kyrsten Sinema divided Democrats during her time in the U.S. Senate. Now she’s accused of dividing a husband and wife, too.
The former Arizona senator is accused of having an extramarital affair with her bodyguard while in office—an alleged relationship that ultimately led to the collapse of a 14-year marriage, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the bodyguard’s ex-wife.
Filed in North Carolina, the suit alleges that Sinema engaged in lengthy, sultry text exchanges with her former bodyguard, Matthew Ammel, including sending photos of herself wrapped in a towel and suggesting that he bring MDMA on a work trip so she could “guide him through a psychedelic experience.”
Heather Ammel, Matthew’s ex-wife, is suing Sinema for alienation of affection, a controversial North Carolina law that allows a person to be held liable for malicious interference in a marriage.
Roughly a year after Matthew joined Sinema’s security detail, the head of her security team departed and warned him that Sinema “was having sexual relations with other security members,” according to the complaint.
Heather alleges that Matthew suffered from mental health challenges stemming from his service in the U.S. Army, and that Sinema exploited his vulnerability to grow closer to him—at one point promising to “help him” work through his struggles. Heather says she later discovered scores of sexually charged messages between Matthew and the prominent centrist Democrat on the encrypted messaging app Signal. Sinema announced in March 2024 that she would not seek re-election.
The lawsuit further claims that Sinema paid for Matthew’s psychedelic treatments, brought him to a wedding, and showered him with gifts: took him on international vacations, to a Taylor Swift concert, and allegedly purchased a Theragun so she could “work on his back.”
In June 2024, Sinema allegedly offered Matthew a paid staff position in her Senate office as a Defense and National Security fellow, where he worked as her subordinate.
Around that time, Heather says she confronted Sinema after seeing a message on Matthew’s phone that read: “I miss you. Putting my hand on your heart. I’ll see you soon.”
Heather responded directly, writing: “are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.”
“Prior to [Sinema’s] deliberate interference in the marriage, genuine love and affection existed between [the couple],” the lawsuit states.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Sinema’s representatives for comment. Matthew Ammel could not be reached for comment.
Matthew filed for divorce earlier this month, TheAssemblyNC reported.
During her Senate tenure, Sinema was known as a centrist Democrat whose closest relationships in Congress were often with Republicans rather than members of her own party. She frequently drew criticism from the left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, who told Stephen Colbert, “I will not miss Senator Sinema,” after she announced she would not seek reelection.
Sinema, now a political adviser at D.C. law firm Hogan Lovells, cited frustration with the state of American politics as one reason for her decision, saying: “Despite modernizing our infrastructure, ensuring clean water, delivering good jobs and safer communities, Americans still choose to retreat farther to their partisan corners.” She added that compromise had become a “dirty word.”
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