A federal judge has ruled that former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema must face a lawsuit in North Carolina accusing her of breaking up a marriage, rejecting her argument that the state has no legal authority over her.
U.S. District Judge David A. Bragdon denied Sinema’s motion to dismiss the case brought by Heather Ammel, who says Sinema’s affair with her then-husband, Matthew Ammel, destroyed their marriage. Sinema had argued she lacked a meaningful connection to North Carolina and therefore could not be sued there.
Bragdon disagreed, finding that Sinema knew Matthew Ammel lived in North Carolina with his wife and their three children. The judge also noted that Heather Ammel discovered the affair in early 2024 after reading nine messages Sinema had sent to her then-husband while he was in the state, and ruled those communications were sufficient to let the lawsuit proceed under North Carolina law.
North Carolina is one of the few remaining states that recognizes alienation-of-affection claims, which allow a spouse to sue a third party they believe caused the breakdown of their marriage. Heather Ammel’s civil complaint seeks damages from Sinema, claiming she interfered with what the complaint calls a “good and loving marriage.”
Bragdon wrote that the messages between Sinema and Matthew Ammel showed Sinema was “furthering a romantic relationship” with him and “invading” his marriage, both while the two traveled together and while he was at home in North Carolina.
Matthew Ammel had joined Sinema’s security detail in 2022 after retiring from the U.S. Army and began traveling with her both domestically and internationally. According to Heather Ammel’s lawsuit, he stopped wearing his wedding ring that summer and was later given a job as a national security fellow in Sinema’s Senate office.
Sinema, who is unmarried, testified in a July 31 deposition taken at a law office in Raleigh that she and Ammel first had sex around Memorial Day 2024.
“We were staying at an Airbnb in Napa, California. We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and had sex,” Sinema said in the deposition.
Sinema, who previously represented Arizona in the U.S. House and Senate, said she had sexual encounters with Ammel in New York, Washington, Colorado and Arizona, but never in North Carolina.
The Ammels separated on Nov. 1, 2024, and their divorce was finalized in March 2026, according to court records. Sinema’s attorneys, Steven Epstein and Abigail Jenkins, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login