Kyrsten Sinema was heckled by two men who claimed they had affairs with the former U.S. senator after the ex-wife of her former bodyguard sued her for allegedly breaking up their marriage.
The former Arizona Senator and Utah Governor Spencer Cox were interrupted during a panel discussion on the economy, tech sector and politics Friday hosted by the Utah Chamber of Commerce and the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported.
Sinema is graduate of Utah’s Brigham Young University, whose mascot is the cougar. “I get called that a lot,” the 49-year-old former senator from Arizona joked to the audience.
Moments later, a man stood up from the crowd and declared: “Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make. I am actually having an affair with Kyrsten Sinema.”
The man continued to yell as he was removed by event staff from the room. Soon after the panel got back on track, another man stood up and yelled out a similar message, the Tribune reported.
The second heckler was also grabbed by security and escorted out of the room.
It was not immediately clear whether the hecklers were performing a prank.
Neither were cited or arrested, according to the report.
“I promise I didn’t plan that,” Sinema said.
The outbursts followed a blockbuster lawsuit filed by the ex-wife of a member of Sinema’s former Senate security team, alleging that Sinema had a romantic relationship with her husband that led to the breakdown of their marriage.
Heather Ammel is seeking at least $75,000 in damages from Sinema.
The complaint was initially filed in September in a North Carolina court but gained national attention after Sinema’s attorney asked to move the case to federal court last week.
Ammel claimed in the filing that she and Matthew Ammel shared “a good and loving marriage” marked by “genuine love and affection” until Sinema allegedly pursued Matthew, who worked as her bodyguard.
The lawsuit alleges that Ammel accompanied Sinema on various trips, including to Napa Valley, Las Vegas, and Saudi Arabia.
In 2024, while Sinema was still in office, Heather Ammel reportedly uncovered “romantic and lascivious” messages exchanged between her then-husband and Sinema through Signal, an encrypted messaging app.
North Carolina, where the lawsuit was filed, is one of a handful of states that allow spouses to sue for “alienation of affection,” allowing abandoned spouses to seek damages from a third party responsible for breaking up a marriage.
The centrist senator changed her party affiliation from Democratic to independent in 2022, though she continued to caucus with Democratic lawmakers on committee assignments.
She resigned after the 2024 election, and she ended her six-year tenure in office in January 2025.
The Independent has requested comment from an attorney for Sinema.
