What’s Going On With Ken Paxton’s Divorce?
Texas’s already dramatic Republican Senate primary race just turned into a soap opera. Ken Paxton, the state’s scandal-ridden attorney general and a close Trump ally, is up against Senator John Cornyn in the primary. He was on track to trounce the sitting senator until Thursday, when his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, announced that due to some “recent discoveries,” she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.” Now the whole race is up in the air, and everyone is wondering exactly which biblical grounds she’s talking about. Did he forget to honor his father? Well, not exactly.
Why did Angela Paxton file for divorce?
On Thursday, Angela Paxton shared in a statement on X that she was divorcing her husband “on biblical grounds.” “I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” she wrote. “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.”
Today, after 38 years of marriage, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds.
— Senator Angela Paxton (@AngelaPaxtonTX) July 10, 2025
I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation. But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to…
CNN reported that the divorce filing alleged Ken Paxton had committed adultery and that the couple has not lived together since last June. Adultery is one of the main things they tell you not to do in the Bible, so you can see why Angela cited “biblical grounds.”
How did Ken Paxton respond?
He sort of tried to make it seem like a mutual decision. In his own post on X, shared 20 minutes after Angela’s, Paxton wrote that after facing “countless political attacks and public scrutiny,” the couple had “decided to start a new chapter in our lives.” Keen observers will note that this is not quite the same reason Angela gave for their split.
After facing the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny, Angela and I have decided to start a new chapter in our lives.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 10, 2025
I could not be any more proud or grateful for the incredible family that God has blessed us with, and I remain committed to supporting…
Does Ken have a history of unholy behavior?
Boy, does he. Since taking office in 2015, Paxton has faced numerous scandals relating to securities fraud, bribery, and abuse of office. In 2023, he was impeached by the Texas House after requesting $3.3 million in taxpayer money to settle a whistleblower lawsuit against him, in which former staffers had accused him of accepting bribes from a real-estate developer friend and donor.
During his impeachment hearing, one of Paxton’s staffers testified that he had an extramarital affair with a woman employed by the real-estate developer. (Side note: During his impeachment proceedings, Paxton was represented by Tony Buzbee, the lawyer filing all those civil suits against Diddy. Small world.) Now, remember, Angela is a state senator, and she held that office during Paxton’s impeachment. She sat through two weeks of testimony about how her husband was allegedly a corrupt cheater. Paxton was ultimately acquitted of all charges, and while Angela was not allowed to cast a vote at the time, it seems that she’s making her opinion known now.
How are other Republicans reacting?
Paxton is not a favorite among Establishment Republicans, and many believed that Democrats would have an easier time campaigning against him than Senator Cornyn. So this is actually not great news for anyone hoping to flip a Texas Senate seat in 2026. The more buttoned-up side of the GOP is using this as a chance to wallop Paxton.
“What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting. No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time,” National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement to CNN.
Still, no one is saying what exactly Paxton “put his family through” that is so “repulsive and disgusting.” The closest thing we have is a post from Alex Latcham, a staffer at the Senate Leadership Fund. Latcham shared Politico’s reporting about Paxton’s divorce, adding, “Ezekiel 16:33,” a Bible verse that mentions men giving gifts to prostitutes. Interesting.
President Donald Trump had yet to endorse either Paxton or Cornyn, which is widely considered the thing that could push the race one way or the other. According to Axios, Cornyn and Trump will spend some time together on Air Force One on Friday as they fly down to Texas together to visit parts of the state affected by floods. Will Trump be forced to pretend he cares about the morality of infidelity? Or will he stand by his fellow cheater? Will Angela Paxton (or maybe an anonymous source close to the family) tell us what exactly happened? Stay tuned.
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