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Ken Paxton, Angela Paxton divorce records unsealed after Collin County judge's ruling

By
S.E. Jenkins
Digital Content Producer, CBS Texas
S.E. Jenkins is a digital content producer for CBS Texas and the South region.
Read Full Bio
S.E. Jenkins,
Steven Rosenbaum
Digital Producer, CBS Texas
Steven Rosenbaum is a digital producer for CBS Texas. A versatile journalist, Steven writes, edits and produces content for the CBS Texas digital platforms.
Read Full Bio
Steven Rosenbaum

/ CBS/AP

A Collin County judge ordered Friday that records in the divorce of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, be unsealed. The order came after attorneys for the Paxtons came to an agreement with a coalition of media outlets make the records public.

The outlets, including The Texas Tribune, The Texas Observer and The Washington Post, along with a nonpartisan watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, challenged the Paxtons' request to seal the records (neither CBS News nor CBS Texas were a party to the court proceedings).

The initial batch of documents showed that Angela Paxton sought the divorce on the grounds that Ken Paxton had committed adultery, but included no additional details.

Angela Paxton filed for divorce in July on "biblical "grounds," according to a . At the time, the senator was seeking "a disproportionate share" of the estate, claiming Ken Paxton is at fault for the breakup of the marriage, committed adultery, that he may have benefited from her staying with him and that he has a higher earning power than she does.  

In a separate filing, Ken Paxton denied the allegations in the divorce petition. More records could still be released under the agreement.

The  on social media that the divorce is due to the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny. 

Shortly after filing for divorce, Angela Paxton asked that the court record be sealed.

Impact on Texas Senate GOP primary

Ken Paxton is currently challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, in what is one of the most heated primary races in the country.

Despite years of controversy, the three-term attorney general has remained competitive in the race, which also includes Rep. Wesley Hunt.

The Paxtons' divorce comes after 38 years of marriage, during which Angela Paxton had supported her husband through a series of legal troubles, including state and federal corruption investigations. A state securities fraud indictment against Ken Paxton was dismissed after a 2024 plea deal in which he agreed to pay restitution and complete community service, and the Justice Department dropped a federal corruption probe earlier this year. His 2023 impeachment trial ended in acquittal.

Angela Paxton also stood by Ken Paxton's side during that impeachment trial, which publicly exposed his extramarital affair. But in announcing on social media that she had filed for divorce in July, she cited "recent discoveries."

Paxton's support in Texas has remained strong amid a decade of legal troubles. He won reelection in 2022 by nearly 10 percentage points.

Paxton launched his bid to unseat Cornyn in April and has since drawn attacks from Senate Republicans' campaign arm, with some in the party concerned that while Paxton could prevail in the GOP primary, he may complicate the general election and force national Republicans to spend heavily to hold the seat. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are facing off in their party's primary.

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