Bombshell divorce records reveal how Congressman blindsided pregnant wife with divorce papers days before she gave birth
Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego stunned his wife by asking her for a divorce days before she was due to gibe birth’, according to bombshell court filings that he fought to keep sealed.
The Democrat lawmaker, 44, who is in the home stretch of a contentious Senate race, allegedly told his ex-wife, current-Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, their marriage was over on December 15, 2016.
He has since shacked up with a much younger second wife.
Gallego filed a motion to seal the case on the same day, and has fought with the Washington Free Beacon all year to keep it that way after the conservative outlet sued for access to the records.
In the filings, Kate appeared to have been surprised by Gallego’s characterization of their marriage as ‘irretrievably broken’, and responded in court that she was ‘without knowledge’ of his intentions.
In 2016, Congressman Ruben Gallego blindsided his heavily pregnant wife (current Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, pictured together in 2014) with divorce papers when she was ‘likely to give birth any day’
Gallego, now in a contentious Senate race in Arizona, went on to marry lobbyist Sydney Warren, who was 14 years his junior, after his divorce was finalized
The unsealing of Gallego’s divorce records comes three weeks before he faces off with MAGA firebrand Kari Lake in Arizona’s senate election, where polls consistently show him with a healthy lead.
Lake, the Republican nominee, has spent the past weeks implying the divorce records would upend the race, and has frequently said they would be a ‘massive story.’
‘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,’ she said on an appearance with KTAR-FM.
Lake added at the time: ‘We don’t know if it was spousal abuse.’
However, the divorce records from 2016 directly refute any claims of abuse, stating that ‘there was no domestic violence in the marriage’ and ‘significant domestic violence did not occur.’
Gallego’s Senate opponent Kari Lake (pictured at a rally with Donald Trump on Sunday) hyped up Gallego’s divorce records before they were unsealed, saying ‘we don’t know if it was spousal abuse’. The records showed no allegations of abuse
The Gallegos slammed Lake after the records were unsealed and demanded an apology, saying they fought to keep them private for the son they share together
After the records were unsealed, the Gallegos released a joint statement slamming his senate opponent Lake for implying the filings would reveal some form of scandal or domestic abuse.
‘We demand an apology from Kari Lake for lying about our family and the circumstances of our divorce,’ the statement read.
‘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.’
Yavapai County judge John Napper, who ordered the case unsealed, also downplayed the filings and said that ‘everyone’s going to be rather deflated’ by the details – also branding it ‘one of the most garden variety divorce files I have ever seen.’
When Gallego filed for divorce, he noted in his action that his heavily pregnant wife had ‘not yet been served’ and was ‘likely to give birth any day’ when she found out.
His reasoning for the divorce was that their ‘marriage (was) irretrievably broken’ and ‘there is no reasonable prospect for reconciliation.’
While Kate said she was ‘without knowledge of information sufficient to form a belief’ about his claims, Gallego also argued that his wife should pay for the divorce proceedings.
Gallego asked the court that Kate should not be entitled to ‘long-term spousal maintenance’ and claimed that ‘neither party is in need of nor entitled to an award of long term spousal maintenance.’
Gallego met his wife Sydney months after his divorce was finalized, and they later welcomed a daughter, Isla, in July 2023
Kate was a member of the Phoenix City Council at the time of the divorce, and she went on to be elected the Mayor of Phoenix in March 2019
Kate initially asked to received spousal maintenance, but later acknowledged they were both ‘financially independent and no financial assistance by means of spousal maintenance is required now or hereafter.’
Divorce records in Arizona are usually public, however Gallego filed to have their records sealed because ‘each party is a high-profile public official’, and their case would ‘likely receive intense scrutiny from the media.’
Their divorce was finalized in April 2017. At the time, Kate was a member of the Phoenix City Council, and she went on to be elected the Mayor of Phoenix in March 2019.
The couple welcomed a son shortly after their divorce was finalized. Just over a year later, Gallego, then-39, says he met his current wife, lobbyist Sydney Barron, 25. They later welcomed a daughter, Isla, in July 2023.
The two announced their marriage in early 2020, where Gallego declared to supporters that he was ‘the happiest man in the world.’
Both Ruben and Kate Gallego asked courts to keep their divorce records sealed, citing concerns about their son’s privacy.
