The ex-wife of Kyrsten Sinema’s former bodyguard testified in federal court Wednesday that she believed the former Arizona senator had been ‘grooming’ her then-husband after he retired from the US Army and joined her security detail. 

It was one of many explosive revelations during an hours-long hearing over a high-profile ‘homewrecker’ lawsuit.

Heather Ammel is suing Sinema for tens of thousands of dollars, claiming the ex-senator ‘maliciously’ and intentionally destroyed her marriage to Matthew of more than a decade. 

Wednesday’s hearing centered on Sinema’s bid to have the case dismissed.

Heather told the court that Sinema seized on Matthew at a vulnerable moment. 

He had joined her staff shortly after leaving the Army in 2022, she testified, seeking a sense of purpose and steady income for their family.

Within months, the dynamic with his new employer began to shift. 

Heather accused Sinema of ‘grooming’ her husband, claiming the then-senator told Matthew they shared a ‘special mental connection’ and began asking deep, psychoanalytical questions during a solo trip the pair took to Napa in 2023.

Former US Senator Kyrsten Sinema exits the Hiram H. Ward Federal Building alongside security detail and attorney as she faces a civil lawsuit filed by Heather Ammel

Heather Ammel exits the Hiram H. Ward Federal Building United States Courthouse on August 19, 2026, in Winston-Salem, NC

In her own testimony, Sinema said she had been unaware that ‘alienation of affection’ laws – the basis of Heather’s suit

Heather Ammel told the court she felt ‘completely powerless’ as Sinema looked on just feet away

Sinema’s overtures made Matthew uncomfortable enough that he asked her not to travel alone with him again.

Months later, Heather attended a U2 concert with the pair in an effort to establish clearer boundaries. 

‘We left the concert on cloud nine,’ she recalled, describing renewed vows between her and Matthew to spend more time together. 

She told the court the couple had also attempted to repair their relationship as recently as April 2025, through a trip to Austin that ultimately fell through.

 Sinema could be seen passing a handwritten note to her lawyer in response.

‘I felt completely powerless,’ Heather told the court, with Sinema watching intently just feet away. ‘It was me against a sitting senator with power, and money… she had her hooks in him.’

In her own testimony, Sinema said she had been unaware that ‘alienation of affection’ laws, the basis of Heather’s suit, even existed before 2025. 

Ex-Senator Sinema looks at Matthew Ammel, her former bodyguard, during a state legislative event in early 2024

Sinema is pictured with Matthew Hammel at a forum in Arizona State University in the fall of 2025

She told the court she ‘had to go home and Google it’ after the complaint was filed.

Sinema also described the timeline of her relationship with Matthew, saying it began in May 2024 when he pursued her during a Napa Valley trip. 

‘He approached me… and we had sex,’ she said, choosing her words carefully, later dismissing it as a one-off. 

‘I’m not like that,’ she told her lawyer.

The two allegedly continued seeing each other in a sexual manner in the months that followed, as she has previously acknowledged, and remain in a relationship to this date.

Both Heather and Sinema remained outwardly composed for the duration of the hearing.

Court adjourned after hours of testimony, and the judge vowed to rule soon on the motion to dismiss the lawsuit.