A TMZ reporter put a question to Rep. Rich McCormick in late July 2026 while the Georgia Republican and Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas walked together through the Capitol after a round of House votes.
The reporter asked whether carrying on a relationship in Washington is difficult for people who work there.
McCormick gave his answer on the spot. “Relationships are tricky to begin with, right? But DC makes it easy,” he said.
About two months later, TMZ published a story reporting that the relationship between the two lawmakers has ended.
Sources with direct knowledge of the situation supplied that account to the outlet. They did not tell TMZ the date the couple parted ways.
Those same sources said the split carried no hostility. According to them, no bad blood exists between McCormick and Van Duyne.
TMZ reported that it could not determine what prompted the separation.
The outlet also reached out to McCormick for a response, and he gave one. “I have a great relationship with her and will continue to strive to be the best friend I can be,” McCormick told TMZ.
The couple’s story traces back to May 2024, when the Daily Mail reported that McCormick had filed for divorce from Dr. Debra Miller, his wife of 12 years.
McCormick submitted the paperwork on May 3 in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
A mutual restraining order went on file with it, and the Daily Mail reported that such orders are standard in that county’s divorce cases.
Two weeks later, on May 17, 2024, Van Duyne spoke with the Daily Mail about her own situation.
“I’m single. We’re both parents of adult children and empty nesters. We are happily engaged in a relationship and, beyond that, it’s a personal issue,” she said.
McCormick’s camp weighed in as well. A spokesperson
said at the time that the congressman and Miller had been separated for “quite some time,” and the spokesperson later confirmed the relationship with Van Duyne.
The Daily Mail also asked Miller whether her husband’s divorce involved a colleague of his in Congress. “You should ask Rich and his colleague,” she told the outlet.
Fellow lawmakers had noticed the pair before any of those statements.
Colleagues described the two spending time together, and reports placed them holding hands near the House floor and at a Republican Study Committee lunch.
McCormick offered a fuller picture of the relationship in April 2025, speaking again with the Daily Mail.
“So we’ve been dating for a minute, and we have a great relationship,” the congressman told The Mail.
Between the May 2024 filing and TMZ’s October 2026 report, the relationship stayed in the public record for more than two years, supported by statements from both lawmakers.
TMZ’s story did not name a date for the breakup, and the outlet did not report a cause. McCormick’s comment to the outlet marks the only public statement tied to the split so far.
