Graham Platner’s wife ‘angry, disappointed’ her past disclosure of his extramarital sexting was made public

The wife of Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, said she is “really angry” about reports that she had previously told her husband’s campaign he had exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

“It makes me really angry, disappointed,” Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, said in a direct-to-camera video released by Platner’s campaign on Saturday night. “And I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on.”

Gertner’s remarks came after The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner had told Platner’s campaign about the sexually explicit texts last year, near the start of his Senate bid. Her disclosure came during a conversation with campaign officials about potential opposition research into Platner, the two outlets reported, with the Times citing a former senior official in Platner’s campaign and the Journal citing people familiar with the matter.

In the video she taped Saturday, Gertner said: “Graham and I have a great marriage. Being married is hard. Being newly married is hard. Being newly married and going through infertility is hard. Being newly married, going through infertility and a Senate campaign is hard.”

“Our marriage counselor helps,” she added. “My personal counselor helps. Graham’s personal counselor helps.”

The pair married in 2023 and have been open about their infertility struggles, including sharing that they traveled to Norway for in vitro fertilization treatment earlier this year.

Platner’s campaign has been dogged by revelations about his past since he launched his bid for Senate last year, but so far that has not slowed the momentum of his campaign.

In October, Platner apologized for resurfaced Reddit posts where he minimized the challenges faced by members of the military who have been sexually assaulted, called white rural people racist and stupid, referred to himself as a “communist” and encouraged people to limit their intake of certain substances to avoid being raped.

“For those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry,” Platner said in a video he posted on X.

That same month, Platner covered up a tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, saying that he got the tattoo while in the Marines in 2007 and had no idea the skull-and-crossbones figure was associated with Nazis.

In her video Saturday, Gertner added: “No marriage is perfect, and I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage, and I want to be married to Graham. … I knew the man that I married is wonderful and dynamic, and probably a genius.”

In a separate written statement distributed by the campaign, Gertner also blamed “someone I considered a friend,” without naming the person, for divulging per disclosures about her husband’s texts.

“I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call,” she said in the statement. “I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives — the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind — and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy.”

Maine Gov. Janet Mills launched her own campaign for the Democratic nomination for Senate last year, but dropped out in April after she struggled to raise funds and trailed Platner in the polls.

Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, has been endorsed by a slate of national progressive leaders, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

After reports of Platner’s sexual texts to other women emerged Saturday, Khanna re-emphasized his support for the Senate candidate and advertised a campaign rally he’ll be attending alongside Platner in June.

“I am proud of @grahamformaine for having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against genocide, and against an unfair & lopsided economy. I am proud of him for having a vision for a new deal for our time. Excited to campaign with him June 5!” Khanna wrote on X.

Platner is challenging longtime Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who is running for a sixth term in the Senate.

While Maine has trended toward Democrats in presidential elections — Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by 7 percentage points in 2024 — Collins has outperformed other Republicans in recent elections to keep her seat. The Republican won her 2020 re-election race by 9 points.