Bisexual former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) allegedly had an affair with her male bodyguard. Now the man’s North Carolina ex-wife is suing Sinema for $75,000 in an “alienation of affection” lawsuit that blames the former congresswoman for “willfully and intentionally” breaking up her marriage of 14 years.

North Carolina is one of six states that allows such lawsuits. Sinema hasn’t publicly commented on the accusations.

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Sinema hired Matthew Ammel after he retired from the army in 2022 and accompanied the congresswoman on trips to Napa Valley, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Saudi Arabia, The Guardian reported. Heather Ammel said she had “a good and loving marriage” with “genuine love and affection,” her lawsuit states, and said she was introduced to Sinema as Matthew Ammel’s wife at a December 2023 concert for the rock band U2. But, in January 2024, she allegedly discovered “romantic and lascivious” text messages between her then-husband and Sinema on the Signal messaging app.

Sinema reportedly sent Matthew Ammel a picture of herself only wearing a towel, asked him to procure the drug MDMA (also known as molly or ecstasy) “so that she could guide him through a psychedelic experience.” The drug is sometimes used in therapeutic settings, and Matthew Ammel suffered from substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury following his deployments to Afghanistan and the Middle East, the lawsuit states.

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Sinema also allegedly offered to “work on [Matthew Ammel’s] back” at her apartment using a handheld massage tool, and messaged him about sexual positions in certain scenarios, The Hill reported. Specifically, when Matthew Ammel messaged Sinema about having sex in the missionary position with the lights on, the senator allegedly replied, “Boring!”

By June 2024, Matthew Ammel stopped wearing his wedding ring so that it wouldn’t look as if Sinema was placing her hands on a married man, Heather Ammel alleged.

Heather Ammel said that her husband admitted that Sinema would sometimes get “handsy” with him, but said that “he didn’t know how to get out of the situation without offending” her, the lawsuit alleged.

Healther Ammel says she sent Sinema a text message in October 2024 that said, “Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.” Heather and Matthew Ammel separated the following month.

Healther Ammel’s case was moved from a state court to the U.S. Middle District Court of North Carolina last week.

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