(The Center Square) – After ten months of litigation, Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego’s divorce records from almost a decade ago have been unsealed, leading the couple to demand an apology from Republican candidate Kari Lake.
Media organization Washington Free Beacon, not Lake, requested the sealed documents be made public in January. The media outlet said that the press and the public had a right to the information as Gallego is running for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.
Gallego and his ex-wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, responded to the request, asking the court to keep the documents sealed in the best interest of their child.
“In early 2017, Rep. Gallego and Mayor Gallego efficiently and amicably resolved the dissolution of their marriage via consent decree,” reads the court document. “They did so in the interest of the mutual respect they share for each other, and most importantly, in the interest of their young child. Seven years later, the Gallegos are alarmed to learn that a right-wing online publication run by those who oppose Rep. Gallego’s political views now seek to dredge up and put on display the most intimate details of a difficult chapter in the family’s life. The information at risk of becoming public does not include allegations of abuse or misconduct as Rep. Gallego’s political opponents undoubtedly hope.”
The redacted divorce documents did not reveal any domestic violence, deception or abuse. While the Gallegos seemingly entered into the divorce amicably, Kate did file in her response to being served the papers that she was “without knowledge” that the marriage was “irretrievably broken without reasonable prospect of reconciliation.” Additionally, she was nine months pregnant at the time of the divorce.
The parents’ prime concern about the documents being unsealed was for their child. Included in the records was a detailed childcare plan including information on when and where their son would be at all times. In response to the request for the documents to remain sealed, the Gallegos noted that they are both public officials and this private knowledge could endanger their son.
Additionally, the City of Phoenix filed a document to the court requesting that private information about Mayor Gallego and her son be redacted, which it was.
“Since Mayor Gallego’s election there have been multiple threats to her family, to include her son,” reads the document. “These threats have come via phone calls to her office, through social media and to her public email account. The nature of the threats has varied, but most included the threat of physical harm to her and/or her son.”
Ruben’s opponent Kari Lake has pushed for the unsealing of these records.
“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,” reads a statement from Lake’s Senior Advisor Caroline Wren. “If Ruben Gallego will turn his back on his pregnant wife days before she gives birth, he will turn his back on Arizona.”
However, Kate has stood with Ruben, asking that the documents remain sealed and going so far as to demand an apology from Lake.
“We demand an apology from Kari Lake for lying about our family and the circumstances of our divorce,” reads a joint statement from the Gallegos. “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.”
