Kyrsten Sinema’s affair with her married former bodyguard was already messy enough to land the former Arizona senator in court. Now, allegations involving an assault arrest and jail bond have added another stunning chapter.
Sinema recently gave sworn testimony detailing her relationship with Matthew Ammel, who was married with three children when their romance became physical in 2024. Ammel’s ex-wife, Heather Ammel, is suing Sinema under North Carolina’s alienation-of-affection law and seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
Sinema testified that the pair first became intimate at a Napa Airbnb around Memorial Day.
“We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and had sex,” she recalled.
According to her deposition, the relationship continued in New York, Washington, D.C., Aspen and eventually at Sinema’s Phoenix home. She also acknowledged that she knew Ammel was married and had children.
That blunt testimony quickly became ammunition on X, where users mocked both the affair and the fact that it unfolded while Sinema was still serving in the Senate.
“What she was doing instead of passing Build Back Better,” one person joked.
Others branded Sinema a “home wrecker” and dismissed the admitted affair as “textbook side chick” behavior.
Kyrsten Sinema Affair Drama Takes Stunning Jail Turn
The scandal became even stranger Sunday when TMZ reported a new allegation involving Ammel’s arrest.
Court documents cited by the outlet show Ammel was involuntarily committed to a North Carolina hospital in November 2025 and arrested the following day after allegedly assaulting a physician.
Heather alleges Sinema then traveled to North Carolina, bonded Ammel out of jail and moved him to Sinema’s home in Arizona.
Ammel later pleaded guilty to assault charges in May and received 12 months of unsupervised probation. He was also ordered to continue mental-health treatment, complete community service, and have no contact with the victim.
Sinema is fighting Heather’s lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds. She does not deny the affair but argues none of the physical relationship occurred in North Carolina, meaning the state’s so-called “homewrecker” law should not apply.
Heather alleges Sinema knowingly interfered with a 14-year marriage. Sinema maintains the case does not properly connect her conduct to North Carolina. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for August 19.
Sinema left Washington after one term in the Senate, but the drama surrounding her private life clearly followed her home. Sworn testimony about sex in Napa, an assault arrest, and allegations that she later flew across the country to bond her lover out of jail have turned an admitted affair into something much harder to ignore.
And with another court hearing only days away, the strangest chapter may not have been written yet.
