Ex-senator has been accused of having an affair with her bodyguard in a lawsuit filed by Heather Ammel, the wife of the former staffer

Kyrsten Sinema, 49, was senator for Arizona 2019 to 2025, first as a Democrat and then as an independent

She is accused of ‘intentional and malicious interference’ in the 14-year marriage of Matthew and Heather Ammel with three children

Heather alleges that Sinema embarked on an affair with her special forces veteran husband shortly after he was hired to her security team in 2022

The affair allegedly culminated in the breakdown of the marriage in late 2024, when Heather and her husband separated

Heather Ammal is suing Sen Sinema, for $25,000 in damages under North Carolina’s law that allows Suits for alienation of affection via ‘wrongful and malicious conduct’

Kyrsten Sinema, [photo], senator representing Arizona 2019 to 2025, first as a Democrat and then as an independent, is accused of ‘intentional and malicious interference’ in the marriage of Matthew and Heather Ammel

An ex-senator has been accused of having an affair with her bodyguard in a lawsuit filed by the distraught wife of the former staffer.
Kyrsten Sinema, 49, who represented Arizona in the US Senate from 2019 to 2025, first as a Democrat and then as an independent, is accused of ‘intentional and malicious interference’ in the 14-year marriage of Matthew and Heather Ammel.
Heather, a mother of three, alleges that Sinema embarked on an affair with her special forces veteran husband shortly after he was hired to her security team in 2022.
Sinema who is bisexual, and her bodyguard frequently traveled together on work trips across the country and internationally, where the suit alleges the senator would invite Ammel to her hotel room.

Heather Ammal, a mother of three, married 14-year, alleges then serving Senator Krysten Sinema embarked on an affair with her special forces veteran husband shortly after he was hired to her security team in 2022

Krysten Sinema [left], and Matthew Ammel, [right], frequently traveled together on work trips across the country and internationally. She allegedly, asked him to bring the party drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy, with him ahead of one of these work trips in 2023

The bisexual senator asked him to bring the party drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy, with him ahead of one of these work trips in 2023, so that ‘she could guide him through a psychedelic experience,’ the suit alleges.
The duo also allegedly messaged about having sex missionary style with the lights on, something Sinema stated was ‘Boring!’ 
Heather is suing Sinema for damages of $25,000 under a unique North Carolina law that allows for a plaintiff to sue for alienation of affection via ‘wrongful and malicious conduct’, for example, an affair. 
Their travels included concerts, such as U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Green Day in Washington, DC, and Taylor Swift in Miami. Ammel also accompanied the senator, who was known to wear bright outfits on Capitol Hill, on a foreign trip to Saudi Arabia. 

Heather Ammal is suing Sen Sinema [photo], for $25,000 in damages under a unique North Carolina law that allows for a plaintiff to sue for alienation of affection via ‘wrongful and malicious conduct’ – that negatively impacts a marital arrangement

Sinema asked Ammel to remove his wedding ring ‘so it wouldn’t look like she was putting her hands on a married man when they were out at concerts,’ the lawsuit claims.
During former president Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address, Sinema told Ammel that she was skipping it as she didn’t need to listen to ‘some old man.’
When Ammel messaged Sinema about wanting to start a ‘f*** the troops’ chant at a Pennsylvania baseball game, Sinema responded she would ‘f*** the hot ones.’
The suit also notes that Sinema purchased a Theragun electric massager for Ammel and texted for him to bring it over to her apartment so she could ‘work on his back.’ Other key evidence is that the senator sent pictures of herself wrapped in a towel to the bodyguard.
In October 2024, soon after Ammel returned home to North Carolina, the senator texted: ‘I miss you. Putting my hand on your heart. I’ll see you soon.’
Heather responded to the message, stating: ‘Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.’ 

Sinema is seen at the US Capitol in 2023 while representing Arizona. She left the US Senate in January 2025, after declining to run for reelection

The affair allegedly culminated in the breakdown of the marriage in late 2024, when Heather and her husband separated.
The complaint says Heather was left emotionally devastated, financially strained and forced to pursue divorce proceedings as a result of Sinema’s actions.
The suit notes that Ammel worked for Sinema between 2022 and 2025. 
Ammel suffers from PTSD as well as a traumatic brain injury and took psychedelic drugs to help combat the effects. 
Sinema has been active in pushing for psychedelics, including MDMA as well as Ibogaine, to be accepted as valid therapies for PTSD, both in her time as a senator and lobbyist after her government service.

Then serving Senators, Krysten Sinema and Mitt Romney at a bipartisan meeting in June 2021

In an interview with the Phoenix New Times last year, Sinema named Ammel as an inspiration for her work, stating that after he returned from a trip to Mexico, where he partook in ibogaine treatment, which is illegal in the US, she ‘saw the difference it was making in his life, his thinking and his behavior.’ 
Sinema also one of a was one of a bi-partisan group of Senators – Michael Bennet, Thom Tillis, Kyrsten Sinema and Rand Paul who advocated for the FDA, under the Biden administration in 2024, to consider the scientific evidence that she believed showed that MDMA could help treat veterans’ behavioral and mental issues, including PTSD. 
The lawsuit alleges that Sinema began buying gifts for Ammal and paying for him to receive psychedelic treatment. Heather claims her now estranged husband’s employer invited him as a guest to a wedding as well as a Taylor Swift concert, and he brought one of his children to the US Capitol for a tour.
Heather and Matthew separated in November 2024.
“Beginning in or prior to 2023, Defendant, with actual knowledge of the Marriage between [Mrs. Ammel] and Mr. Ammel, began to willfully and intentionally seduce, entice, and alienate the affections of Mr. Ammel,” the suit states.
“And began to wrongfully and maliciously deprive her of the warmth, companionship, love, affection, consortium, society, financial contributions, services, and attention of Mr. Ammel.”