Former Democrat-turned-Independent Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema has been open in court about her sexual relationship with a former bodyguard who is now her boyfriend.
Sinema has been embroiled in a legal battle involving Matthew Ammel and his ex-wife, Heather Ammel, TMZ reported Thursday.
The ex-wife’s lawyers recently grilled Sinema about the relationship between her and her ex-husband, the outlet continued:
According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, the former politician testified during her deposition that her romance with Matthew, who was married and working as her bodyguard, started in late May 2024 when they were in California.
Kyrsten said, “We were staying at an Airbnb in Napa, California. We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and had sex.” She said under oath this was the first time they had sex or kissed.
Ammel’s ex-wife filed a lawsuit against the former senator in North Carolina for allegedly breaking up her marriage. In that state, spouses are allowed to take such legal action against a person for having sex with their partner resulting in the end of the marriage.
The couple had been married for 14 years before they split up, according to Public Radio East.
The lawsuit had to do with the state’s so-called “homewrecker” law. However, Sinema has argued in court filings the law did not apply in her case because she did not have ties to North Carolina.
“The documents detail racy texts and luxury trips to Napa Valley and Saudi Arabia, but Sinema’s team claims the relationship didn’t happen on North Carolina soil until after the couple separated,” the East article stated.
Sinema’s attorney, Steven Epstein, reportedly used a subpoena to try and obtain documents from Heather Ammel’s therapist that included her session dates, notes, intake forms, invoices, and other communications related to the woman in 2024, the Phoenix New Times reported in June.
“Heather Ammel fought that move. Her attorney, Thomas Van Camp, initially wrote to Epstein requesting that the subpoena be withdrawn and then filed a motion with the court to block it. He argues that Sinema’s request was ‘completely unrelated to the issue of Defendant’s contacts with North Carolina’ and was outside the scope of the court’s discovery order,” the article said.
Sinema announced in March of 2024 she would retire at the end of the year and not run for reelection, Breitbart News reported at the time.