U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar files for divorce, citing an ‘irretrievable breakdown’ in her marriage

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has filed for divorce from her husband, Ahmed Hirsi, claiming an "irretrievable breakdown" in their marriage.

The split follows allegations from August that Omar was having an affair with a political consultant, Timothy Mynett, who has worked for the congresswoman's campaign.

Omar, 37, and Hirsi, 39, have three children; her divorce filing requests joint legal and physical custody. They were reportedly married in a religious ceremony in 2002. At one point, they were separated, and Omar married another man, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, but they have since divorced. Omar and Hirsi then got back together and legally married in 2018.

Omar's new divorce filing is straightforward and doesn't mention an affair. But a Washington, D.C., physician has alleged that her husband maintained a romantic relationship with Omar. In late August, Beth Mynett - medical director and health services administrator of the D.C. Department of Corrections - filed for legal separation from her husband.

In documents filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Beth Mynett said Timothy Mynett told her that he was "romantically involved with and in love with another woman, Ilhan Omar." The separation filing states that Timothy Mynett met Omar while working for her. Timothy Mynett's counterclaim, also filed in late August, states that "he had not engaged in any physical or sexual relationship with any other woman during their marriage."

Shortly after these allegations of an affair became public, Omar was asked in a television interview whether she was dating anyone or was separated from her husband. "No, I am not," Omar replied.

"I have no interest in allowing the conversation about my personal life to continue, and so I have no desire to discuss it," she told WCCO, the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis.

On Monday, Omar's office did not respond to a request to comment on the divorce filing or the affair allegations. Her divorce filing was entered in a Minnesota court on Friday. E Street Group, Mynett's consulting firm, did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Washington Post reporting based on federal campaign finance records, Omar's campaign paid Timothy Mynett $7,000 in July 2019 and E Street Group, the firm he owns, more than $220,000 in 2018 and 2019 for fundraising consulting and other services.

Colloquially, Omar is known as part of "the Squad," a group of four freshman Democratic female lawmakers who often band together for liberal causes and have been harshly criticized by President Donald Trump. She's one of the youngest members of Congress, one of the first two Muslim American female members and the first in the legislative body to wear a hijab. She was born in Somalia, and her family fled civil war there in the 1990s, spending several years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States. She represents the 5th District of Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis.

Timothy and Beth Mynett have a 13-year-old son. They’ve been living together since shortly before their son was born in 2006, court documents state, and were married in 2012.