PHOENIX (AP) — Divorce records for Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego and his ex-wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, were made public Thursday after an Arizona court unsealed most of the seven-year-old case file.
The records offer little insight into the high-profile marriage or the reasons it fell apart. There are no allegations of abuse or infidelity that could have upended Arizona's closely watched Senate race, one of a handful that will determine control of the upper chamber of Congress.
The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news site, petitioned to release the records, which Ruben and Kate Gallego both opposed, saying they wanted to protect their child's safety and privacy. They were unsealed a day after the Arizona Supreme Court declined the Gallegos' request for an emergency order keeping them private.
GOP nominee Kari Lake has hyped the release of the records as part of a broader attack on Ruben Gallego's character, suggesting in interviews and social media posts that they would be a “massive story" and that the Gallegos' fight to keep the record sealed showed they had something big to hide.
“I hope everybody who says they're going to vote for him will hold off until we get the details about why he ran off on his wife when she was nine months pregnant," she said on KTAR-FM this week, adding, “We don't know if it was spousal abuse.”
The divorce decree, signed by both Gallegos, includes a declaration that “the parties acknowledge and agree that there was no domestic violence during the marriage or that significant domestic violence did not occur."
In a joint statement Thursday, the Gallegos blasted Lake for hyping the divorce and said they have always prioritized the interests of their son, who is now 7.
“We demand an apology from Kari Lake for lying about our family and the circumstances of our divorce,” the statement said. “She will stop at nothing to score a cheap political point — even if it means endangering the privacy and well-being of our young son."
Caroline Wren, a senior adviser to Lake, said Lake had “nothing to do with this lawsuit."
“It’s bizarre that Ruben Gallego would demand an apology from Kari Lake for his appalling behavior,” Wren said, questioning how Gallego could spend millions of dollars on advertising claiming he wants to protect women after divorcing his pregnant wife.
“If Ruben Gallego will turn his back on his pregnant wife days before she gives birth, he will turn his back on the women of Arizona,” she added.
The divorce file spells out the shared parenting and custody plan for their son, who was born while the divorce case was pending, and how the couple’s assets would be divided, but most of those details were redacted from the publicly released records.
The case was finalized four months after it was filed without any indication of wrangling over assets or custody.
Yavapai County judge John Napper, who ordered the case unsealed, predicted after reviewing the file that “everyone’s going to be rather deflated.” He called it “one of the most garden variety divorce files I have ever seen.”
The breakup of the Gallego marriage shortly before the birth of their first child shocked the Arizona political community when it was announced in 2016. Speculation about the reasons and the secrecy surrounding the divorce records has been one of the biggest challenges Ruben Gallego has confronted in his Senate campaign.
Both Gallegos have called their separation a “private matter" and have said little publicly about it, though Ruben Gallego, a retired U.S. Marine, has suggested post-traumatic stress disorder he got from a deployment to Iraq contributed.
Kate Gallego endorsed her ex-husband’s Senate campaign last year, and they routinely appear together in public, often with their son.
The Gallegos went to extraordinary lengths to keep the records private. Ruben Gallego filed the petition for divorce in Yavapai County, 100 miles from Phoenix and where neither has ever lived, and asked a judge to take the rare step of sealing the entire case file.
Napper, the judge now overseeing the case, ruled the case was improperly sealed and rejected many of the Gallegos' requested redactions.
The Arizona Court of Appeals sided with the Free Beacon last week and ordered the files unsealed on Thursday. The state Supreme Court declined to step in late Wednesday.
U.S. Senate candidate U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., speaks during a debate with Republican challenger Kari Lake, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (Cheryl Evans/Arizona Republic via AP)
BOSTON (AP) — When Zdeno Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, the No. 3 he wore early in his career had already been retired by the Original Six franchise.
So he picked No. 33 without giving it much thought.
“Little did I know how meaningful 33 was,” Chara said on Thursday night before his number was raised to the TD Garden rafters not far from where Larry Bird's No. 33 already hangs in Celtics green.
It is the 13th number retired by the Bruins, and the latest in a collection of Hall of Fame defenseman that runs from Eddie Shore to Bobby Orr to Raymond Bourque.
“It's a huge honor,” Chara told reporters. "I can’t explain to you how honored I feel. I’m humbled about being selected to be one of the numbers being retired. Being with that history, forever."
The 2009 Norris Trophy winner and a 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Chara spent 14 of his 24 NHL seasons in Boston, leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. His 1,680 games is the most of any NHL defenseman; at 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06m), he is the tallest player in league history, and his 108.8 mph (175.1 kmh) slap shot in the 2012 skills competition remains the NHL record.
But his teammates and other Bruins attending Thursday's ceremony said Chara's biggest contribution was signing with a team that hadn't won a playoff series in six years — “the best decision I ever made” — and turning them into champions.
“Things really changed when Zee came here as a free agent,” Bourque said. "From that point on, the culture and everything that comes with that, and the success and the run that they had, he was such a big part of that.
“He’s a legend,” Bourque said. “He really deserves to be up there.”
Bourque was among the former Bruins greats in attendance, along with Orr — both of them, like Chara, Boston defensemen who finished their careers elsewhere on their way to the Hall of Fame. They arrived via gold carpet that led them past adoring fans and the statue of Orr flying through the air following his Cup-winning goal in the 1970 finals.
Other fellow retired number honorees in attendance included Cam Neely, Willie O’Ree, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly and John Bucyk. The current Bruins sat on the bench, all wearing Chara jerseys.
Five members of the 2011 roster — Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi, Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask — carried the retired number onto the ice, and teammate Andrew Ference served as emcee.
In his speech, Chara read the names of every player on the Bruins last Cup winners. Asked why, he said after: “Without championships, you are not going to be successful, you’re not going to be recognized.
"The championships, that’s what they do. They raise everyone, they extend careers for everyone,” he explained. "They create dynasties. They create stories. They create memories. They created what we’re experiencing tonight.
"It’s very simple: Once you win the championship, everything gets so much better for everyone. And the most beautiful thing about it: You create extended families with each other. It’s true. You have bonds, you have friendships that are now still forever. It’s amazing; it’s like you’re seeing your brother. You trust the person; you know everything about them. And anytime anybody needs something, you’re there for them.
“That’s what winning championships do,” he said. “Not just for a career, but for the rest of your lives, it means something very special.”
The ceremony at center ice featured a “Big Zee” ice sculpture flanking the podium and a large No. 33 behind it. Fans were asked to get in their seats two hours early, and the full TD Garden erupted in a giant shout of “Zee!” followed by an extended cheer of “Thank you, Chara!”
A highlight video featured former Bruins Brad Marchand and current coach Marco Sturm, Chara's teammate from 2006-10. Many of them spoke of the way Chara led by example.
“He wasn’t really a ‘Rah, rah!’ guy,” former Bruins forward and current team president Neely said, “but when he spoke, it was with a purpose.”
And so, when it was time to raise his No. 33 to the rafters, Chara stood by with his wife, Tatiana, while their children — Zack, Ben and Elliz — pulled the ropes.
“That’s the biggest reward for me: To see my children and my family doing it instead of me. I think I get better joy watching them doing it than the joy of me doing it because it's so much more meaningful,” he explained. "They deserve that more than me."
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara leads his family over to his number "33" to raise it to the rafters before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, center, waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony, as Bruins' players with their number already retired, from left, Willie O'Ree, Rick Middleton, Terrry O'Reilly, Cam Neely, emcee Andrew Ferrance and Bobby Orr look on before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara's number "33" is raised to the rafters at TD Garden before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Bobby Orr applauds, left bottom, as former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara waves to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
