Paxton's divorce records unsealed, revealing bitter dispute over assets

A judge in Collin County on Friday unsealed divorce records that disclose new information regarding the contentious separation between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, Angela. The Republican officeholder refutes claims of infidelity and contends that she should not receive any portion of the couple’s estate.

The documents, made public on December 20, detail the conflicting assertions in the Paxtons' divorce following 38 years of marriage. This release coincides with Ken Paxton's campaign in a heated Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. Ken Paxton is competing against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Wesley Hunt in the heated Republican primary for the U.S. Senate.

In 2024, Angela Paxton, a state senator, initiated divorce proceedings after Ken Paxton's 2023 impeachment trial, during which he was acquitted of bribery, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice. Her petition references “biblical grounds” and asserts that the marriage has become “insupportable due to discord or conflict of personalities.”

In the unsealed documents, Angela Paxton requests the court to grant her a greater portion of the couple’s property, contending that her husband has a higher income as attorney general. She is also requesting sole access to their home, a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado, electronic devices, and other personal belongings during the course of the case. She is asking that Ken Paxton be mandated to cover attorney’s fees, provide temporary financial support, pay mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, and other household expenses.

Ken Paxton dismissed those allegations in a concise reply, denying any misconduct and requesting the court to provide him with “all relief,” while asserting that his wife should “take nothing.”

Both parties initially consented to maintain the records under seal; however, they changed their stance on Thursday, just hours before a court hearing was scheduled on the matter. Ken Paxton and Angela Paxton were both absent from the hearing, and Angela Paxton had no representatives in court.

The release followed the diligent efforts of various media groups and advocacy organizations to obtain the documents, asserting that the case was significant because it involved elected officials and was relevant to the public interest. Following the ruling, Tyler Bexley, an attorney representing the media intervenors, described the decision as “a victory… for the Texas voters.”

The divorce has taken a backseat in Paxton’s Senate campaign, with Cornyn criticizing Paxton’s ethics record while avoiding direct mention of the marital dispute. In response to the attorney general's directive mandating that public schools display the Ten Commandments, Cornyn recently took to social media to criticize Paxton.

Cornyn responded to the question of which commandments Paxton should reconsider by telling CBS News, “All ten of them,” and noted that the situation highlighted “the hypocrisy that we’ve seen from the Attorney General.”

The divorce proceedings continue, and a trial date has not yet been set.