Former US senator Kyrsten Sinema has described an affair with a married bodyguard in a court deposition, including an encounter at the wedding of a CNN presenter. Sinema gave the deposition on 31 July in a lawsuit filed against her by Heather Ammel, the former wife of Matthew Ammel. The case was filed in the US District Court in North Carolina.

Heather Ammel accuses Sinema of contributing to the breakdown of her 14-year marriage. Sinema is contesting the lawsuit. According to the court filings, Sinema said the relationship with Ammel began with a kiss in the backyard of an Airbnb during the Memorial Day weekend in 2024. She said they had sex for the first time that night.

She told lawyers that they next met at the wedding of CNN anchor Jessica Dean and Alex Katz in New York in June 2024.

The couple married on 15 June at The Grill and Pool in midtown Manhattan. New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Richie Torres were among the guests, while CNN Washington correspondent Kaitlan Collins officiated.

Sinema also described other meetings with Ammel, including at her home in Arizona and in Aspen, Colorado, where she was attending a fundraiser. Sinema was single at the time of the relationship. Her lawyers have filed a motion seeking to dismiss the case, arguing that North Carolina courts do not have jurisdiction because the relationship did not take place in the state.

In her deposition, Sinema also said Ammel had told her months before their relationship began that he wanted to divorce his wife. “He told me that Heather had hit him and threw a phone in his face,” Sinema said, according to the court filings. “My recollection is he said, ‘I got to get a divorce.’”

The filings also describe an appearance by Sinema and the Ammels at a Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert in Miami in October 2024.

Before the concert, Heather Ammel had sent Sinema a message asking whether she was having a relationship with her husband. Sinema said she did not respond.

She said her interactions with Ammel at the concert were “normal” and that Ammel did not confront her or make any accusations at the event. The allegations and details of the relationship are contained in court filings as the legal dispute continues.