Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s Ex-Bodyguard Affair Revealed in Lawsuit
In a recent deposition related to a $75,000 lawsuit filed by her ex-wife, former Senator Kyrsten Sinema disclosed intimate details about her affair with Matthew Ummell, who was her bodyguard at the time. This relationship contributed to the breakdown of Ummell’s 14-year marriage.
Sinema, who identifies as bisexual, admitted to having sexual encounters with Ummell while they traveled across the country. She stated that their first sexual encounter occurred around Memorial Day 2024, two years after he joined her security team.
“We were staying at an Airbnb in Napa, California. We were outside. Matt kissed me. We went inside and we had sex,” Sinema described during her deposition on July 31, as documented in court records. This kiss marked the beginning of their romantic involvement.
The lawsuit brought against Sinema by Heather Ammel, Ummell’s ex-wife and mother of his three children, capitalizes on North Carolina’s “home-wrecker” law, which allows spouses to pursue legal action against a third party involved in an affair.
Sinema, who is now 50, filed her own lawsuit in January in federal court, challenging the claim that the affair occurred in North Carolina.
Heather Ammel is seeking over $75,000 in damages, asserting that Sinema allegedly encouraged her former husband to use psychedelic drugs, purportedly to cope with mental health issues stemming from his military service.
Sinema expressed concern for Ummell, noting, “I cared about Matt. Matt and several other members of the security team suffered traumatic brain injuries.”
Following their initial encounter in Napa, Sinema indicated that they met again a few weeks later at the wedding of CNN anchor Jessica Deen in New York City, and subsequently at her apartment in Washington, D.C. They had another sexual encounter in August 2024 while Sinema was fundraising in Colorado.
In a later conversation, she recalled a more chaotic recounting of events at her Phoenix home in October 2024. However, she seemed uncertain about whether there had been another affair in September, a detail that Matthew Ammel previously claimed in an affidavit.
Sinema, who has not remarried, found out in December 2023 that Ammel was still married and had three children.
Heather Ammel recounted discovering the affair after reading a message on her husband’s phone while he was intoxicated. In the message, Sinema had written, “I hope your day was okay. I’m thinking of you. I’m with you. I wake up so many times in my sleep that I try to reach into your arms and hold me.”
Heather also accused her estranged husband of manipulation, stating that he was likely deceiving both her and Sinema during their relationship, calling Sinema an “established liar and manipulator.”
The couple separated in November 2024, and their divorce was finalized in March of this year. An evidentiary hearing regarding the federal case is set for August 19th.
