Divorce between Ken and Angela Paxton will proceed outside public view, reports say

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A state district court judge in Collin County agreed Friday to seal all records relating to divorce proceedings between Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. Angela Paxton, according to reports by The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times.

That will likely keep details of the high-profile divorce from becoming public as Ken Paxton runs to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s Republican primary. That race is expected to be one of the most-watched 2026 Senate race.

Angela Paxton requested the proceedings be sealed, according to the news outlets. The order to seal this case was not immediately available Saturday. It was granted one day after Angela Paxton filed to divorce her longtime husband. In Texas, divorce cases are generally public record but can be sealed if it includes highly sensitive information.

On social media, Angela Paxton cited “recent discoveries” for the split and said the decision was made on “biblical grounds.”

Neither of the Paxtons could immediately be reached for comment Saturday.

Before the case was sealed, records obtained by The Texas Tribune showed that the couple had not lived together for more than a year and Angela Paxton had accused her husband of adultery.

Accusations of adultery were prominent in Ken Paxton’s impeachment in 2023. Former aides in his office accused him of having an extramarital affair with a former Senate aide.

The Texas House impeached the attorney general, suspending him from his position, for a litany of allegations, including corruption and bribery. The Senate later acquitted him. Republicans hold majorities of both chambers.

Angela Paxton was present during the impeachment trial, but rules prevented her from casting a vote in its outcome.The woman with whom Ken Paxton was accused of having an affair was called to testify before the Senate, but left without speaking. She had planned to refuse to answer questions and assert her right against self-incrimination, The Texas Tribune reported at the time.

Paxton is in his tenth year of serving as the state’s attorney general. Throughout his term, Paxton has dodged an influx of legal troubles and personal scandals, from the nine-year securities fraud case against him that was dropped last year to a federal investigation into bribery and corruption allegations, which was also dropped.

Throughout it all, Angela Paxton had publicly supported him and stayed in their near four-decade marriage, until now.

In his own statement Thursday, Ken Paxton attributed the struggles in his marriage to the “countless political attacks and public scrutiny” that he has faced.

Disclosure: New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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