Amy Gertner, the wife of Senate hopeful Graham Platner of Maine, had previously alleged that her husband exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women during his marriage, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported. Planter is an oyster farmer and former US marine, and is Maine’s presumptive Democratic nominee for the US Senate after his main competitor, Janet Mills, suspended her campaign last month.
Platner had already been facing more controversies, including those related to past racist, sexist and homophobic online posts, as well as a now-covered-up tattoo of a Totenkopf, recognized as a Nazi symbol. He is vying to unseat five-term Republican senator Susan Collins.
Read More | Graham Platner accused of sending sexually explicit texts to women; wife weighs in
Platner’s team started opposition research on him to unveil new information during his bid for Senate after he launched his campaign last August before a Labor Day rally with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. Back at the time, Gertner shared with the campaign’s then political director, Genevieve McDonald, that she had found sexually explicit messages he had sent other women on his phone in the spring of 2025. The two of them then started marriage counseling, and the campaign’s aides decided the messages were a private matter.
Who is Amy Gertner?
Here are five things to know about Amy Gertner:
- Gertner was an elementary and middle school art teacher until 2024.
- Gertner married Platner in 2024, and the two are business partners who co-own and operate the Waukeag Neck Oyster Company in Sullivan, Maine.
- Platner and Gertner shared their fertility journey in 2026, seeking IVF treatment in Norway due to the high costs in the US. After the Wall Street Journal report about the sexually explicit texts surfaced, Gertner said in a statement released by Platner’s campaign, “It is no secret that Graham and I have struggled on our fertility journey. We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren’t easy. And we came through it, not in spite of how much we’ve been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we’ve built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before.”
- The couple announced a heartbreaking miscarriage in April after pursuing in vitro fertilization treatment in Norway. They said in a joint statement that they were “moved beyond words” by the support they received after speaking out about infertility, and asked for “grace” and “space” as they grieved the loss.
- Gertner added in the recent statement after the Wall Street Journal report’s publication that she “confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend,” and was “deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy.” “I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t,” she added.
