- Sinema admitted affair with married bodyguard Matthew Ammel.
- Bodyguard's ex-wife seeks $75,000 under 'homewrecker law'.
- Affair began in 2024, discovered through phone messages.
Kyrsten Sinema, an independent from Arizona and the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress, admitted to having repeated sex with her married ex-bodyguard Matthew Ammel beginning around Memorial Day 2024. Ammel had joined her security team two years earlier.
According to the court documents, the first incident occurred at an Airbnb in Napa, California. “We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and had sex,” Sinema stated. That was also their first kiss, she said.
Sex at CNN anchor Jessica Dean’s wedding
Subsequent encounters followed in the weeks after, including during CNN anchor Jessica Dean’s wedding in New York City, at Sinema’s Washington, DC, apartment, during a fundraising trip in Colorado in August 2024, and at her Phoenix home in October 2024, New York Post reported.
She was uncertain about a possible September 2024 encounter that Ammel described in his own deposition.
“I cared about Matt”
Sinema, who is unmarried, confirmed she learned in December 2023 that Ammel was married with three children. “I cared about Matt,” she said, noting that he and other security team members suffered from traumatic brain injuries linked to multiple Middle East deployments.
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(Bodyguard Matthew Ammel)
Bodyguard's wife seeks $75,000 from Sinema
Ammel’s ex-wife, Heather Ammel, has alleged that Sinema introduced him to psychedelics, purportedly to help manage those injuries and related mental health issues. Heather Ammel, a mother of three, filed the suit in North Carolina under the state’s “homewrecker law,” which allows a spouse to seek damages from a third party who interferes with a marriage. She is seeking more than $75,000.
How did wife get to know about affair?
Sinema moved the case to federal court in January, arguing the affair occurred outside North Carolina. Heather Ammel said she discovered the relationship when her husband was “severely intoxicated” and she read messages on his phone.
One from Sinema read: “I hope your day was okay. Thinking of you. I am with you. I keep waking up during my sleep and reaching over for your arms to hold me.” Heather Ammel further claimed her husband was “actively manipulating” both women and described him as an “established liar and manipulator.” The couple separated in November 2024; their divorce was finalised in March 2026. An evidentiary hearing in the federal case is scheduled for August 19, 2026. Sinema’s Senate term ended in January 2025.