Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) have confirmed that they are in a relationship following reports that the congressman filed for divorce from his wife of 12 years earlier this month.
“His marriage has been over for quite some time as I understand it, he’s filed for divorce,” Van Duyne told the Daily Mail. “I’m single. We’re both parents of adult children and empty nesters. We are happily engaged in a relationship and beyond that it’s a personal issue.”
McCormick also confirmed their relationship to the Mail shortly after Van Duyne’s statement.
McCormick, a first term lawmaker, filed for divorce from his oncologist wife Dr. Debra Miller on May 3 citing a breakdown in their marriage.
The filing came amid reports that he and Van Duyne have been getting cozy on Capitol Hill.
A source told the Daily Mail that the pair held hands under the table at a congressional caucus meeting earlier this year and footage from President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in March shows McCormick stroking Van Duyne’s arm.
They’ve also been caught arriving at and leaving late night events together, and multiple eyewitnesses have seen the pair holding hands just off the House floor and McCormick grabbing “the small of [Van Duyne’s] back” during floor votes.
Miller told the Daily Mail that she is sure the congressman “would not be forthcoming” about the reason for their divorce.
Pressed on whether an alleged an affair led to their divorce, Miller told the Mail, “You should ask Rich and his colleague.”
McCormick and Miller were married in 2011 and share seven children. Van Duyne has been divorced since 2012 and shares two children with her ex-husband.
