Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is facing backlash after a federal lawsuit filed in North Carolina accused her of having an affair with a former bodyguard who was married at the time.
The complaint, filed by Heather Ammel, alleges that Sinema engaged in “intentional and malicious interference” in Ammel’s marriage to Matthew Ammel, an Army veteran who began working on Sinema’s Senate security detail in April 2022. The lawsuit further claims Sinema and Matthew took part in “repeated episodes of s***** intercourse” while he was still married.
Matthew retired from the Army in 2022 and was hired that same year by Sinema’s head of security to work as one of her bodyguards while she was still serving in the Senate. (Sinema retired from Congress in 2025.)
According to the filing, about a year later Sinema’s head of security resigned after raising concerns to Matthew that Sinema was having s***** relationships with other bodyguards. The lawsuit says the head of security urged him to leave the role as well, but he stayed for financial stability.
In late 2023, the lawsuit says, Sinema asked Matthew to serve as her security detail while she attended a U2 concert at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Sinema allegedly described the trip as a “gift,” and Matthew chose to use the opportunity to introduce Sinema to Heather and to “establish boundaries,” the complaint states.
The filing alleges the three spent time together during the trip, socializing with Sinema’s friends and others who traveled to Las Vegas — including Cindy McCain. The lawsuit claims they visited McCain’s suite after the concert, where Sinema offered Heather champagne and allegedly asked, “Did you ever think you would be drinking Dom Perignon in Cindy McCain’s suite?”
Heather later noticed that Sinema and her husband were exchanging frequent messages on the app Signal in 2024, the lawsuit says. Those messages, the complaint alleges, “were of romantic and lascivious natures.”
Heather claims she discovered exchanges that included a photo of Sinema in a towel, Sinema offering to help Matthew with his mental health, and Sinema suggesting he bring MDMA on a work trip so “she could guide him through a psychedelic experience.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(689x289:691x291):format(webp)/kyrsten-sinema-82f0f37850db4f9090df563f42c6667c.jpg)
The lawsuit also alleges Heather found messages in which Matthew and Sinema discussed having S** with the lights on and in the missionary position — to which Sinema allegedly replied, “Boring!”
Sinema is further accused of buying gifts for Matthew, including a Theragun that he was allegedly told to “bring to her apartment so she could ‘work on his back,’ ” according to the complaint. The filing also alleges that Matthew accompanied Sinema to a wedding in June 2024 as her “security and guest,” after which the two flew to her home in Scottsdale and “stayed alone together.”
The lawsuit claims that the same month as the wedding, Sinema gave Matthew a salaried role and placed him on her Senate staff as a defense and national security fellow.
While Matthew did not admit to having an affair, the lawsuit alleges he told Heather in the following months that he planned to divorce her.
The complaint further alleges that in October 2024, Sinema messaged Matthew, “I miss you. Putting my hand on your heart. I’ll see you soon.” Heather says she saw the message and responded: “Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.”
After returning from a work trip in Saudi Arabia in November 2024, Matthew moved out of the home he shared with Heather, and the couple separated, according to the lawsuit.
Heather is seeking $25,000 in damages under North Carolina’s alienation of affection statute, which allows a third party to be sued for intentionally breaking up a marriage.
Neither Sinema nor her representative immediately responded to a request for comment.
