Just days after sensational claims regarding her personal life surfaced, former Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema found herself at the center of a public disruption involving men who alleged affairs with her.

Sinema, who served Arizona in the U.S. Senate from 2019 until 2025, was attending the Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit as a keynote speaker at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The event, which also featured Governor Spencer Cox, took an unexpected turn on Friday.

During the summit, a man stood up and declared to the attendees, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make: I am actually having an affair with Krysten Sinema.”

The audience was left in a state of confusion, unsure if the outburst was part of the program or a genuine claim. Utah Highway Patrol troopers, part of Governor Cox’s security detail, promptly escorted the man out, all while he continued to make his claims, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.

As the panel tried to regain focus, another man rose to echo similar allegations. He, too, was removed from the premises. The outlet noted that neither individual faced arrest or formal charges.

The dramatic scene unfolded shortly after a lawsuit accused Sinema, 49, of “intentional and malicious interference” in the decade-plus marriage of Matthew and Heather Ammel, casting a shadow over her public persona.

Heather, a mother of three, alleges that Sinema, the first openly bisexual member of Congress, embarked on an affair with her special forces veteran husband shortly after he was hired to her security team in 2022. 

The man’s comment wasn’t the only thing that shocked attendees at the event, as Sinema described herself as a ‘cougar’ just moments before the outbursts. 

Former Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema was heckled by several men during a speaking event on Friday in Utah. The men said they’re having an affair with her, just days after a lawsuit alleged she was having an affair with her former bodyguard 

Krysten Sinema alongside her former bodyguard Matthew Ammel. The two are accused of having an affair, according to a lawsuit filed by his wife wife of 14 years, Heather Ammel

The ex-senator was discussing her alma mater, Brigham Young University, which is known as the home of the ‘cougars.’ The term also refers to an older woman having a relationship with a younger man. 

‘I get called that a lot,’ Sinema said. Ammel is 39, 10 years younger than the politician. 

After the men’s comments, she told the crowd: ‘I promise I didn’t plan that,’ per the outlet. 

Sinema and her bodyguard frequently traveled together on work trips across the country and internationally, where the suit alleges the senator would invite Ammel to her hotel room. 

The senator asked him to bring the party drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy, with him ahead of one of these work trips in 2023, so that ‘she could guide him through a psychedelic experience,’ the suit alleges. 

The duo also allegedly messaged about having sex missionary style with the lights on, something Sinema stated was ‘Boring!’ 

Heather, 38, is suing Sinema for damages of $25,000 under a unique North Carolina law that allows for a plaintiff to sue for alienation of affection via ‘wrongful and malicious conduct’, for example, an affair. 

Their travels included concerts, such as U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Green Day in Washington, DC, and Taylor Swift in Miami. 

Sinema (pictured in April 2023) described herself as a ‘cougar’ just moments before the outbursts 

Ammel also accompanied the senator, who was known to wear bright outfits on Capitol Hill, on a foreign trip to Saudi Arabia. 

Sinema asked Ammel to remove his wedding ring ‘so it wouldn’t look like she was putting her hands on a married man when they were out at concerts,’ the lawsuit claims.

During former President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address, Sinema told Ammel that she was skipping it as she didn’t need to listen to ‘some old man.’

When Ammel messaged Sinema about wanting to start a ‘f*** the troops’ chant at a Pennsylvania baseball game, Sinema responded she would ‘f*** the hot ones.’

The suit also notes that Sinema purchased a Theragun electric massager for Ammel and texted for him to bring it over to her apartment so she could ‘work on his back.’

Sinema even sent pictures of herself wrapped in a towel to Ammel.

In October 2024, soon after Ammel returned home to North Carolina, the senator texted: ‘I miss you. Putting my hand on your heart. I’ll see you soon.’

Heather responded to the message, stating: ‘Are you having an affair with my husband? You took a married man away from his family.’ 

Ammel’s ex-wife Heather (left) claims their marriage was ‘good and loving’ until his alleged affair – and says his drug-fueled outbursts left their three children at risk

The affair allegedly culminated in the breakdown of the marriage in late 2024, when Heather and her husband separated.

The complaint says Heather was left emotionally devastated, financially strained, and forced to pursue divorce proceedings as a result of Sinema’s actions.

The suit notes that Ammel worked for Sinema between 2022 and 2025. 

Ammel suffers from PTSD as well as a traumatic brain injury and took psychedelic drugs to help combat the effects. 

Sinema has been active in pushing for psychedelics, including MDMA as well as Ibogaine, to be accepted as valid therapies for PTSD, both in her time as a senator and lobbyist after her government service.

After news of the alleged affair came out, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed Ammel faced shocking allegations of violence and psychedelic drug abuse. 

The ex-soldier is currently out on a $10,000 bond over claims he strangled and punched a physician assistant who refused to discharge him from a North Carolina hospital in November.

Heather described similarly wild behavior in her March 2025 divorce petition, alleging that her war-hero former spouse had a history of ‘uncontrollable bouts of anger.’

‘Defendant would oftentimes express his anger by punching the wall of the marital home, breaking and destroying furniture, and screaming at Plaintiff in fit of rage,’ her filing says.

The alleged outbursts were fueled by marijuana, alcohol, and psychedelics, according to the complaint by Heather, the mother of Ammel’s three kids aged 10, 13, and 14.

Furious Heather says in the complaint that her 14-year marriage was ‘good and loving’ before the Arizona politician allegedly wooed her man. 

Heather sought sole custody of their kids but while a judge initially split parenting time between the two, he issued an emergency order on November 21 suspending Ammel’s visits.

That was one day after the Afghanistan war hero was arrested on felony charges of assault and strangulation on physician assistant Phillip Dandridge.

The ex-soldier is currently out on a $10,000 bond over claims he strangled and punched a physician assistant who refused to discharge him from a North Carolina hospital in November, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail

Ammel had been involuntarily committed to a FirstHealth facility in Pinehurst, North Carolina for allegedly threatening to shoot the manager of his rental property, according to court filings.

When Dandridge – a US army vet specializing in combat related illnesses – explained that he could not leave, Ammel allegedly pushed the medic against a wall, slammed him to the floor and punched him in the face, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the Daily Mail.

He placed Dandridge ‘on his side, hugged his body from behind and wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck for a period of time,’ the warrant adds.

Ammel was taken to the Moore County jail but released a day later on $10,000 bond ahead of a January 29 disposition hearing.