Sen. Angela Paxton files for divorce from Attorney General Ken Paxton

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

State Sen. Angela Paxton announced Thursday she has filed for divorce from her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, said in a post on X. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”

In her divorce filing, Senator Paxton alleged that her husband had committed adultery, listing it as the “grounds for divorce.” The couple stopped living together more than a year ago — “on or about June 1, 2024” — according to a copy of the filing obtained by The Texas Tribune.

In his own statement, Attorney General Paxton cited the “pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny” as the reason the couple had “decided to start a new chapter.”

Attorney General Paxton is currently running against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s Republican primary, after close to a decade as attorney general. Senator Paxton was elected in 2019 to represent the North Texas Senate district that her husband represented before his elevation to statewide office. She was reelected to another four-year term in November.

Paxton’s record of aggressively suing the Biden administration is matched only by his penchant for scandal, culminating in his impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives in 2023. The Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him after a nearly two-week trial.

Angela Paxton attended her husband’s trial but was not allowed to vote on any issues or participate on deliberations over whether to convict or acquit.

The impeachment claims focused on benefits Paxton provided to Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, as well as an alleged extramarital affair the attorney general had with a former Senate aide. According to investigators, the affair ended briefly in 2019 after Angela Paxton learned of it, then resumed in 2020. The woman he allegedly had an affair with was called to testify before the Senate and came to the chamber, but left without speaking.

Ken Paxton has weathered several political and legal scandals since his impeachment acquittal. Last year, prosecutors agreed to drop a nine-year-old felony securities fraud case against him. He has also closed the door on a federal investigation into corruption allegations his former aides lodged with the FBI and overcome a State Bar of Texas attempt to sanction him over his move to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Paxton has yet to see any of his legal troubles spill over to the ballot box, twice winning reelection amid pending scandal. Still, the divorce filing threatens to disrupt his bid for U.S. Senate by playing into Cornyn’s attacks on his spotty ethics record.

The news could also complicate Paxton’s active efforts to win the endorsement of President Donald Trump, whose stamp of approval could help decide the primary. Trump discussed the race Wednesday night with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and operatives from the Senate GOP’s top super PAC, Punchbowl News reported.

This story will be updated.

Shape the future of Texas at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin! We bring together Texas’ most inspiring thinkers, leaders and innovators to discuss the issues that matter to you. Get tickets now and join us this November.

TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.