Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema testified that she did not flirt with her former bodyguard before their coast-to-coast sexual affair began at an Airbnb in Napa, California.
A federal judge doesn't believe her.
District Judge David Bragdon said Sinema's testimony was not credible and denied her request to dismiss the “homewrecker” lawsuit she is facing in North Carolina, according to a Sept. 4 court filing.
“Sinema’s testimony on several key matters has not been credible,” Bragdon wrote. “The Court also finds it implausible that Mr. Ammel, a married man and mere security guard to Ms. Sinema, would have kissed his boss, a United States Senator, with no prior flirting or invitation.”
Sinema served one term as a U.S. senator from Arizona. She was elected
as a Democrat in 2018 and later left the party to become an independent. During her final year as a lawmaker, Sinema began having an affair with her then-bodyguard Matthew Ammel.
Now, Sinema is being sued by Heather Ammel, the ex-wife of her former bodyguard and current boyfriend. Heather Ammel accused Sinema, who is not married, of breaking up her marriage.
The case relies on North Carolina’s rare “homewrecker” law which allows spouses to take the person who broke up their marriage to court.
Sinema admitted to having a sexual relationship with Matthew Ammel but argued the case should be dropped because the affair didn’t happen in North Carolina. She also denied having romantic feelings toward Matthew Ammel in 2024.
“I’m not like that,” Sinema testified in August. “When the opportunity presented itself, and when Mr. Ammel approached me, we had sex.”
Weeks later, the judge sided with Heather Ammel in his September ruling and allowed the case to continue.
Heather Ammel presented the court with text messages exchanged by Sinema and Matthew Ammel to establish their relationship and prove the case could be handled in the state.
The text messages included conversations about former President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, a Depeche Mode concert in Italy and plans to watch a Netflix documentary on MDMA.
In another message, Sinema told Matthew Ammel she was “putting my hand on your heart.”
“These messages, considered together, show Ms. Sinema building and furthering a romantic relationship with Mr. Ammel—invading the marriage not just while he was away on trips with her but while he was home with his family in North Carolina,” the judge wrote.Now the case can continue in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, the judge ruled. President Donald Trump, a Republican, appointed Bragdon to the bench in 2025.
“To the extent Ms. Sinema suggests her relationship with Mr. Ammel was a fleeting sex-only relationship, later conduct undermines this claim,” the judge wrote.
Bragdon noted that Matthew Ammel and Sinema are still in a romantic relationship and stay with each other four to six days each month. The judge also pointed out that Sinema bonded Ammel out of jail in November 2025 after he was arrested on felony assault charges stemming from a violent breakdown.
As the case continues, Bragdon said traveling to North Carolina should not be a burden on Sinema since the Arizona resident is an “experienced traveler." Sinema is part of Hogan Lovells’ global regulatory and IP practice group in Washington, D.C.
“If she can live in Arizona and work in Washington, D.C., it seems unlikely that a lawsuit in North Carolina would impose a burden,” the judge wrote.
Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She co-hosts “The Gaggle,” The Republic’s weekly politics podcast. Reach her at stephanie.murray@usatodayco.com, on X and TikTok @stephanie_murr and on Instagram @stephaniemurray.news.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sinema has 'not been credible' in 'homewrecker' case, judge says
