Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema could be required to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages over an alleged affair with her former bodyguard, after his estranged wife filed a lawsuit under a rarely used 19th-century law.
The suit invokes “alienation of affection,” a legal claim still recognized in just six U.S. states. One of those states is North Carolina, where Sinema’s former bodyguard, Matthew Ammel, lived with his estranged wife, Heather Ammel, for about a decade.
The complaint accuses Sinema of engaging in “intentional and malicious interference” in the marriage and seeks $25,000 in damages for what it describes as “willful and wanton” conduct.
To prevail in such a case, plaintiffs face a high burden of proof. They must demonstrate that a genuine, loving marriage existed before any third-party involvement; that the relationship was destroyed or significantly weakened; and that the defendant directly “caused the destruction of that marital love and affection.”
The complaint lays out a detailed timeline of Sinema’s relationship with Matthew Ammel, tracing its evolution from his role on her security detail, to a staff position, and ultimately to a romantic relationship.
According to the filing, Sinema sent suggestive messages to Ammel via the encrypted messaging app Signal in the months before he and his wife formally separated.
“I keep waking up during my sleep and reaching over for your arms to hold me,” Sinema wrote to Ammel on Signal in June 2024, according to the complaint—around the same time he allegedly stopped wearing his wedding ring.
In another instance, Sinema offered to “work on” Ammel’s back with a Theragun. She also allegedly suggested he bring MDMA on a work trip and offered to “guide him through a psychedelic experience,” though she has said she has “no recollection” of those messages.
Heather Ammel is also described in the complaint as having participated in social outings with the pair both before and after the alleged affair began. In 2023, she traveled with her husband and Sinema to Las Vegas for a U2 concert, where they drank Dom Pérignon in Cindy McCain’s suite, according to the lawsuit.
The trio also attended a Taylor Swift concert in Miami in October 2024, a trip described in court filings as motivated by “concern” for Ammel’s children, according to affidavits reviewed by Fox News Digital.
That same month, Heather Ammel allegedly confronted Sinema directly by replying to one of her Signal messages.
“Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family,” she wrote, according to the complaint. Sinema has acknowledged receiving the message. (RELATED: Kyrsten Sinema Acknowledges Relationship With Married Bodyguard In Court Filing)
The lawsuit alleges Sinema acted with “deliberate” interference, claiming she “wrongfully and maliciously” deprived Heather Ammel of the “warmth, companionship” and love of her marriage.
Sinema, who served in the Senate from 2019 to 2025, does not dispute that the relationship occurred. However, her attorneys argue the case should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, stating the relationship took place “exclusively outside” North Carolina.
While alienation of affection claims are uncommon today, they have resulted in significant verdicts. In 2010, a North Carolina jury awarded Cynthia Shackelford $9 million in damages in a similar case. In 2018, a Durham County judge ordered $8.8 million in damages to be paid to BMX show owner Keith King, who alleged another man had destroyed his marriage and business.
Sinema has said the relationship became “romantic and intimate” in May 2024 during a trip to Sonoma, California. She also acknowledged the pair were later “physically intimate” in Phoenix, Arizona; Aspen, Colorado; and New York City.
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