Amid Affair Rumors, a Divorce Filing by Ilhan Omar

Minnesota congresswoman splits from husband Ahmed Hirsi, has denied affair allegations
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 7, 2019 10:30 AM CDT
Court Docs: Ilhan Omar Has Filed for Divorce
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-NY, listen to witnesses during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019.   (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

She recently denied both an affair and the end of her marriage, but now the latter is getting some confirmation. Rep. Ilhan Omar filed for divorce on Friday from Ahmed Hirsi in Minnesota, reports the New York Post, which was also the first to report on an alleged affair between the 38-year-old congresswoman and DC consultant Tim Mynett. In that news back in August, Mynett's wife, Dr. Beth Mynett, said in her own divorce filing that her husband had told her in April of an extramarital dalliance with Omar, and even made a "shocking declaration of love" before dumping his wife, with whom he shares a son. An extra layer to this development: Through her campaign, Omar has reportedly paid Mynett and his consultancy about $230,000 since 2018 for services.

Mynett has also denied the affair. TMZ, which confirms Friday's divorce filing via court records, lays out Omar's rather complicated relationship history: Her marriage to Hirsi in 2002 was a religious ceremony, not a legal one, and they had two kids together before separating in 2008. She legally married another man in 2009, though they ended things in 2011—but didn't officially divorce till 2017. In the interim, Omar had gotten back with Hirsi, and they had a third child together in 2012. They were legally married in 2018. The divorce papers say the split was from an "irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship" and that Omar wants joint legal and physical custody of their three kids. (More Ilhan Omar stories.)

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