Graham Platner’s Wife Swears That Beyond the Nazi Tattoos and Sexting Behind Her Back, He’s a Good Person

It can’t be easy running for Senate, but no one’s made it look quite as hard as Graham Platner, the working-class oyster farmer from Maine whose biggest opponent seems to be his own past. 

Many will remember the veteran and former marine faced a series of controversies in October, kicking off when CNN published a report of his archived Reddit posts (to give you the gist: one of them was titled “shorts that prevent you from being raped.”) He later apologized for these, attributing them to PTSD after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later that month, Platner also preemptively leaked the rest of his opposition file on a podcast, which is how we all found out he once got a tattoo of something resembling the symbol of Germany’s 33rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf with some fellow marines in Croatia—though according to him, he didn’t know what he was doing at the time. (As he said then: “I am not a Nazi.”) But according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, Platner has yet another sore spot in his history that suggests he may not be a fantastic person.

According to the WSJ, Platner’s wife—Amy Gertner—told one of his staffers last summer that Platner had a history of sexting other women, out of concern that it could negatively impact his chances in the race. This detail was confirmed by various sources that worked in his campaign, such as Genevieve McDonald, who told the New York Times that he sexted as many as twelve people at once.

Graham Platner is running Kyrsten Sinema software on John Fetterman hardware

— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85.bsky.social) May 30, 2026 at 2:25 PM

 

Platner has fiercely denied the allegations, accusing the WSJ and NYT of “journalistic malpractice.” “[They] ran stories without any evidence besides the gossip from a former staffer,” he said. In a separate statement, he said, “Amy and I went through something hard—because of me. We did the work, and I’m grateful for her every hour of every day.” Hm.

And praising his wife seems to be the bare minimum, considering very few have been as fiercely defensive about his character than Gertner herself. “No marriage is perfect,” Gertner said in a video message published by Platner’s campaign on Twitter. “I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage, and I want to be married to Graham.” Girl. She added: “I want everyone to know Graham and I have a great marriage…Marriage is hard.” 

In a separate statement, Gertner also expressed her disdain with the leak, calling it an act of betrayal. “I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend,” she said. “In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call.” Gertner and Platner have been married since November 2023, though they’ve since reportedly received counseling. 

In the video, Gertner also criticized media outlets for being too focused on the scandal, as opposed to his campaign positions on healthcare, education, and childcare. Which—silly, greedy me—I forgot you can’t really have both a person that isn’t shit, has good policies, and is aspiring for a seat in Congress. And well, seeing as Platner’s running to unseat the even more undesirable Sen. Susan Collins (R)—who’s been serving in the Senate for over three decades—it seems yet another reminder that Mainers really can’t have it all.