Former Senindela Kyrsten Sinema charged with ‘wrecking home’ over alleged affair
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North Carolina’s “demolition laws” are drawing national attention to deep-seated marital scandals, and this time, a former U.S. senator is at the center of the case.
According to a complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital, former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is accused of having an affair with a married security guard, triggering a high-profile charge of “split affection” under North Carolina law.
The lawsuit, filed by Heather Ammel in Moore County Superior Court, alleges that Sinema intentionally followed her husband, Matthew Ammel, even though she knew he was married and had children. According to the complaint, Sinema allegedly sent her “affectionate and abusive” messages, showered her with gifts, and invited her on trips to Napa Valley and New York.
The complaint also alleges that Sinema suggested that Matthew Ammel bring MDMA on a work trip to “guide him to psychedelic exposure.”
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Former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz., speaks to reporters in the Ohio Clock Corridor at the US Capitol on December 9. The report said the Justice Department considered investigating Sinema for possible campaign finance violations during the Biden administration. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
But beyond these startling allegations is a larger culture war about marriage, accountability and whether the law should punish people accused of helping to break up the family.
“It’s exciting,” University of Virginia sociologist and family expert Brad Wilcox told Fox News Digital. “One of the few values that Americans embrace across the spectrum is the value of honesty.”
Wilcox argued that laws like North Carolina’s reflect a broader public belief that marriage vows are still important — even in a culture rife with celebrity cheating scandals, viral stories and social media-fueled dating culture.
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“These laws are designed to strengthen the bond of marriage and to ensure the importance of faithfulness in marriage,” said Wilcox.
North Carolina remains one of the few states that still allows amicus curiae, which allows one spouse to sue the other accused of helping to break up the marriage. Plaintiffs can seek substantial financial damages, and in some cases, judges have handed down verdicts worth millions.
Critics call the cases outdated relics of old English common law. Proponents, however, oppose the laws recognizing that infidelity can cause devastating emotional and financial harm that goes beyond the couple involved.
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“These laws are designed to strengthen the bond of marriage and ensure the importance of faithfulness in marriage,” said Wilcox. (Getty)
“What people fail to see is the way it happens in our marriages that affects adults, children and communities,” said Wilcox.
He cited research that shows infidelity is one of the biggest predictors of divorce and warned that the fallout could be worse for children.
“Children of divorced parents are about half as likely to graduate from college,” Wilcox said. “They are more likely to face pressure. The boys are more likely to end up in prison.”
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“So this idea that infidelity is just a small private matter between two consenting adults is not true,” he added. “It can take an emotional and financial toll on adults and children.”
For veteran North Carolina family attorney Charles R. Ullman, who is board certified in family law and has spent decades handling the breakdown of broken marriages, lawsuits also provide something many divorced spouses feel they otherwise lack: accountability.
“It’s one of the few ways people feel like they’re getting some kind of relief,” Ullman told Fox News Digital. “If you don’t have this case, you don’t have a solution for someone to be a ‘domestic abuser’ or really involved and not separate from their partner.”
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Ullman pushed back against critics who argue that the charges are unfairly directed at third parties rather than cheating husbands or wives.
“According to family law, you can’t get financial relief for having an affair,” Ullman said. “But there is something you can do to get financial relief from the paramour. And many times that couple caused financial damage.”
He compared lawsuits to other areas of law where people are allowed to recover damages caused by another person’s conduct.
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“We have all kinds of laws that allow us to recover losses due to someone else’s conduct,” Ullman said. “Another question you might have is why don’t you have this instead of why do you have it?”
Wilcox argued the allegations against Sinema also tap into public frustration with elites accused of ignoring the same social values many Americans still value.
“This case gives us an example where our elites do things that undermine an institution that is probably the most important in our country,” said Wilcox. “The law here basically tells us that third parties have a real moral and legal responsibility when they intervene and break up a marriage.”
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North Carolina is one of only a few states with “homewrecker” laws. (Stock)
At the same time, lawyers say the digital age has changed how stories happen and how they are revealed in court.
“It’s really easy to send a text message or a nice picture or something graphic,” Ullman said, holding up his cell phone during the interview. “With a cell phone or access to the Internet, you can have these extended conversations whenever you can sneak away.”
He said encrypted messaging apps, disappearing messages, DMs on social media and reconnecting with exes online have become recurring themes in modern infidelity situations.
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“I can’t tell you the times you had a high school sweetheart,” Ullman said. “People reconnect with someone from their past, and this becomes a frozen state in time.”
And while celebrity stories may become memes or tabloid fodder online, Ullman said the real-world consequences behind the headlines are hardly funny.
“Nothing good happens when you divorce,” he said. “It affects every aspect of your life – your finances, your children, your emotions, your outlook on the world.”
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“When people find out that their spouse has had an affair, there is usually a reaction that is almost like shock,” he added.
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North Carolina also recognizes a related claim known as “criminal conversation,” which differs from marital separation in one important way.
“The alienation of love is the theft of emotion, of the heart,” explains Ullman. “Criminal conversations are the idea that you have an exclusive right to your spouse’s sexual relations.”
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Still, Ullman acknowledged that lawsuits are less likely to stop matters than to help distraught spouses get justice after the damage is done.
“I think it’s about trying to find a solution,” he said. “To give the wronged person a chance to get some form of relief.”
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Still, both Ullman and Wilcox say the continued popularity of these cases with North Carolina judges shows something profound about how Americans still view marriage.
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Parents are sitting with their little daughter on the couch as she uses a tablet at home. (Stock)
“I think it’s in people’s hearts that protecting marriages is the right thing to do,” Ullman said. “Wedding vows exist because people believe there is something in them.”
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Wilcox echoes that sentiment, calling marriage the strongest predictor of long-term happiness in America.
“One of the strongest predictors of happiness for adults in America today for both men and women is a good marriage,” Wilcox said. “It’s more important than money, career success, regular sex, or religious faith in data.”
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“Unfaithfulness,” he added, “is a sword to the heart of marriage.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sinema, his legal team and attorneys representing Heather Ammel for comment.
