Gallego Makes Last-Ditch Appeal to AZ Supreme Court to Keep Divorce Records Sealed

Gallego presses for stay of lower court ruling that would unseal his divorce records

Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego on Tuesday sought the intervention of the state’s Supreme Court to prevent the unsealing of his divorce records. 

Lawyers for Gallego filed a motion to stay an appellate court decision that ordered the unsealing of the documents, arguing that “sensitive details about the Gallegos’ and their minor child’s life stand to be published if Free Beacon succeeds” and that the press and the public lose “nothing” by further delay, including a delay beyond the “upcoming general election.” 

Tuesday’s filing marks a last-bid effort by Gallego to keep his divorce records, which are treated as public documents for average Arizona citizens, under wraps. In an Oct. 15 decision, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Free Beacon and upheld a Superior Court decision that ordered the partial unsealing of the documents. 

“Upon review, we hold the court properly exercised its discretion by narrowly tailoring what is to be withheld from public view for those legitimate purposes,” the Court of Appeals wrote in its decision.

Gallego, who is facing off against Republican Kari Lake for Arizona’s open Senate seat, filed for divorce in late 2016 when his wife, Kate Gallego, was on the verge of giving birth to their son. He did so in Yavapai County, more than 100 miles away from where the couple lived at the time, though Arizona law stipulates that citizens must file in the county in which they reside. He then succeeded in convincing a judge to seal the file, including its existence on the docket. 

Three years after filing for divorce, and two years after the divorce was finalized, Gallego tied the knot with his second wife, lobbyist Sydney Barron, in a private ceremony in 2019. Months later, he posted pictures that purported to show his proposal to her and announced their engagement, though the two were already married. “She said yes!! Thank you Sydney for being my forever!” Gallego wrote of his wife. The couple had a public wedding in 2021.