Former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema is expected to provide testimony this month in a civil lawsuit filed by the ex-wife of her former bodyguard, with whom she had an affair. The lawsuit, filed in North Carolina, accuses Sinema of "deliberate" and "malicious" interference in the nearly 15-year marriage between Heather Ammel and Matthew Ammel, the father of her three children.
Heather Ammel is seeking damages exceeding $25,000, plus punitive damages, from Sinema for her alleged role in the dissolution of the marriage. The case is proceeding under North Carolina's "alienation of affection" tort, a law that allows a spouse to sue a third party for causing the end of their marriage. This law is one of only a few remaining in the United States that permits such claims.
Sinema's legal team has not denied the affair but is reportedly disputing whether the affair sufficiently occurred within North Carolina to fall under the state's specific laws. Heather Ammel's lawyers contend that enough of the relationship's communications and actions took place while Matthew Ammel was physically in North Carolina, citing instances such as Sinema sending a photo of herself in a towel while Heather Ammel was in their shared kitchen. Sinema has denied other alleged instances, including suggestions of drug use on a work trip.
Court filings reveal communications between Sinema and Matthew Ammel, including messages sent via Signal in June 2024, around the time he allegedly stopped wearing his wedding ring. The lawsuit alleges the affair spanned several months and involved meetings in multiple states, including trips to Sonoma County and Miami, where Sinema and Matthew Ammel attended a Taylor Swift concert with his children and Heather Ammel present.
To succeed in an alienation of affection lawsuit in North Carolina, plaintiffs must prove that their marriage possessed genuine affection prior to the third party's involvement, that this affection was destroyed or significantly diminished, and that the defendant directly caused this destruction. Past cases in North Carolina have resulted in significant payouts, with one jury awarding $9 million in 2010 and another ordering $8.8 million in 2018 for similar claims.
Sinema, who served as a Democratic senator before becoming an independent, has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. Her legal representatives also did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily Mail. The exact format of Sinema's testimony—whether in person, via deposition, or written—has not been specified.