Graham Platner’s Wife Confirms the Candidate Sent Explicit Messages to Other Women During Their Marriage

Wife of Candidate Graham Platner Confirms Explicit Messages

Campaign Knew About the Messages

Platner Faces New Controversy

Graham Platner, the likely Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Maine, is facing new questions after reports surfaced about sexually explicit text messages he sent to other women during his marriage.

Why it matters: The controversy comes at a key moment for Platner’s campaign, as he seeks to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in one of the most closely watched races of the election cycle.

According to reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the information was originally shared by Amy Gertner, Platner’s wife, with members of the campaign during 2025.

Platner, an oyster farmer and former U.S. Marine, became the leading Democratic hopeful after Janet Mills suspended her campaign last month.

His candidacy had already drawn national attention because of controversy surrounding racist, sexist, and homophobic social media posts, as well as a Totenkopf tattoo that was later covered.

The Campaign Knew About the Information Since 2025

According to The Guardian, after Graham Platner’s campaign officially launched in August of last year, his team began a vetting process to identify potential issues that could emerge during the race.

In that context, Amy Gertner told Genevieve McDonald, then the campaign’s political director, that she had discovered sexually explicit messages her husband had sent to other women during the spring of 2025.

According to the reports, the couple began marriage counseling after that episode.

Campaign advisers ultimately concluded that the matter belonged to the private sphere.

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However, the situation gained renewed relevance after McDonald shared details related to those messages with journalists.

Gertner reacted through a statement released by Graham Platner’s campaign.

“I entrusted very personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend,” she said.

She also said she shared intimate aspects of her relationship when they were not even imagining an election campaign.

Amy Gertner Defends Her Marriage

In her statement, Gertner said she and Platner faced the situation together.

“We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to therapy. We were honest with each other in ways that were not easy,” she said.

She added that they managed to overcome the difficulties because of the love they share and the life they have built together.

According to her, the marriage is now “stronger than ever.”

Amy Gertner also expressed her personal support for the candidate.

“I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and worst days of my life,” she said.

She also stated that this perception has not changed and will not change.

Former Adviser Questions the Candidate’s Integrity

Genevieve McDonald, who left the campaign along with two other staffers after controversies related to Platner’s tattoo and social media posts, offered a critical assessment of the hopeful.

“The United States Senate is not a boot camp for redemption. It is a place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity,” she told The New York Times.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner maintains an active account on Kik, a private messaging platform.

According to the report, the account uses the username phustle0331.

The profile photo shows a shirtless man in front of a mirror, with tattoos that, according to the outlet, appear to match those on Platner’s arms.

Last year, Graham Platner told The New Yorker that he met his wife Amy Gertner through friends before later matching with her on Bumble, a dating app.

The controversy adds to a series of questions that have followed the likely Democratic Senate candidate’s campaign as he prepares for a politically significant election in Maine.