There is no suggestion that the Arizona Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Ruben Gallego, divorced his wife due to domestic abuse allegations, according to unsealed legal documents.
Republican Kari Lake, who is challenging Gallego for the Senate seat, had been speculating what could be in the divorce papers to attack the Democrat’s character and public image. Polls suggest that Gallego is the favorite to win the seat being left vacant by Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema in November’s race.
The December 2016 divorce papers between Gallego and his ex-wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, were made public on Thursday following a monthslong court battle involving conservative news organization The Washington Free Beacon, who sought to have them unsealed.
“I hope everybody who says they’re going to vote for him will hold off until we get the details about why he ran off on his wife when she was nine months pregnant,” Lake had told KTAR-FM on Wednesday. “We don’t know if it was spousal abuse.”
The records offered no major insight as to why the couple separated beyond stating the marriage was “irretrievably broken,” a legal term common in Arizona cases.
The papers include a declaration that “the parties acknowledge and agree that there was no domestic violence during the marriage or that significant domestic violence did not occur.”
Newsweek has contacted Lake and Gallego’s campaign teams for comment via email.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) speaks at the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The divorce papers Gallego filed in December 2016 have been unsealed following a lengthy court battle.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Gallego has said post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in the Iraq War had put a strain on his marriage, telling The Washington Post in 2023 he had been prone to “extreme outbursts.”
The high-profile Arizona couple split shortly before the birth of their son in January 2017. The papers confirmed that Gallego filed paperwork to end the marriage in mid-December 2016.
Gallego, who has served as a representative from Arizona since 2015, has faced speculation as to why he left his wife for most of his political career.
The 465 pages, which were unsealed Thursday by the Yavapai County Superior Court, largely contain standard divorce proceedings, including details on custody and child-support arrangements.
Some of the proposed custody arrangements from the pair and details on child payment support are redacted.
The divorce was finalized in April 2017 with no major dispute between the dividing of assets or custody arrangements. Both Gallegos acknowledged “the love, devotion and dedication of the other to the minor child.”
In June, Yavapai Superior Court Judge John Napper, who originally presided over the Washington Free Beacon’s case, indicated the divorce proceedings were pedestrian in nature.
“I’m not a politician, and maybe this will be very, very important information. But this looks to me like one of the most garden-variety divorce files I have ever seen,” Napper said.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the Gallegos demanded that Lake apologize for “lying about our family and the circumstances of our divorce.”
“She will stop at nothing to score a cheap political point—even if it means endangering the privacy and well-being of our young son. We have long put our child before all else and will continue to do so,” they added.
“The judge in this case has recognized how standard the records are, and it is shameful that Lake, her allies, and those who amplify her cruelty refused to respect two people who are just trying to raise a beautiful boy together.”
Mayor Gallego has endorsed her former husband’s Senate bid, and the pair frequently appear together in public with their son.
Caroline Wren, senior adviser to Lake, said in a statement: “It’s bizarre that Ruben Gallego would demand an apology from Kari Lake for his appalling behavior.
“Everyone knows Kari Lake had nothing to do with this lawsuit, which was filed by an independent media outlet. However, we do find the revelations from the divorce records to be shocking, especially considering Ruben Gallego is spending millions on advertising claiming to want to protect women, yet he served his unsuspecting wife with divorce papers when she was days away from giving birth, and even demanded she pay his attorney’s fees,” Wren added.
“If Ruben Gallego will turn his back on his pregnant wife days before she gives birth, he will turn his back on Arizona.”
