Platner Sent Explicit Texts to Women Before Campaign; Couple Sought Counseling

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner issued a statement addressing reports that he sent sexually explicit text messages to multiple women outside his marriage prior to his candidacy. Platner said he and his wife Amy Gertner had worked through the issue in counseling.

"Amy and I went through something hard -- because of me," Platner stated. He added that people don’t care about gossip or headlines, they care that you’re fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids. Gertner released a video statement that the campaign posted on social media in which she said Platner has been in therapy for years.

"No marriage is perfect and I don't want a perfect marriage," Gertner said in the video. In a separate prepared statement, she said she had shared personal information about her marriage with someone she considered a friend and felt betrayed by the disclosure.

"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," Gertner stated. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Gertner alerted Platner’s campaign in 2025 after he announced his Senate run about sexually explicit text messages her husband had exchanged with multiple women.

The Wall Street Journal reported that months later Gertner disclosed the texts to a campaign aide and that aides determined the matter was private and being handled in marriage counseling.

Platner adviser Morris Katz posted on social media that “It’s no one’s f------ business what happened in Graham & Amy’s marriage before he was ever a candidate for office.” Platner released a new campaign advertisement and is continuing to campaign ahead of the June 9 primary.

University of New Hampshire polling released days before the reports showed Platner leading Republican Sen. Susan Collins 51% to 42% among likely voters. Maine Gov. Janet Mills previously suspended her Democratic primary campaign but remains on the June 9 ballot along with Democrat David Costello.