Katie Porter‘s political career has been marked by her sharp questioning in congressional hearings and rise as a prominent Democratic figure. However, her public persona is shadowed by a deeply contentious divorce and serious allegations from her former husband that have resurfaced throughout her campaigns. The story of her marriage to Matthew Hoffman is not just one of a relationship that soured, but a saga of mutual accusations of abuse, legal battles, and a specific, bizarre incident involving a bowl of hot mashed potatoes that has followed her for years.
The allegations from her past marriage offer a stark contrast to the image of the composed, single-mother congresswoman. They paint a picture of a tumultuous homelife filled with anger, and while Porter has firmly denied these claims and presented herself as the victim, the details from court documents continue to be a source of controversy and public fascination.
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A Marriage That Ended in Accusations and Restraining Orders
Katie Porter married Matthew Hoffman, her college sweetheart, in 2003. The couple had three children and lived in Irvine, California, with Hoffman serving as a stay-at-home father while Porter worked as a law school professor. By 2013, their decade-long marriage had unraveled, ending in a divorce that was anything but amicable. The split escalated when both Porter and Hoffman filed for restraining orders against each other, each claiming to be a victim of the other’s behavior.
Matthew Hoffman’s claims, detailed in his 2013 court filing, depicted a marriage fraught with verbal and physical abuse. He alleged that Porter routinely screamed insults at him, calling him a “f—— idiot” and “f—— incompetent.” He claimed she would throw toys, books, and other objects at him during arguments. In one incident from 2012, Hoffman stated that Porter shattered a glass coffee pot on the kitchen counter because she was angry the house was not clean enough, sending glass shards flying.
Perhaps the most vivid allegation, which has since become a notorious part of Porter’s political lore, involved a dinner dispute in 2006. Hoffman claimed that Porter was furious about how he was preparing mashed potatoes. He alleged she yelled, “Can’t you read the f—— instructions!” before lifting a ceramic bowl of steaming hot potatoes and dumping it on his head, which he said burned his scalp.
Katie Porter dumped scalding mashed potatoes on her husband’s head?!
How is this the first I’m hearing about this???
I can’t believe Katie Porter sacrificed food! pic.twitter.com/ySGUWIYPNc
— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) October 9, 2025
Hoffman also accused Porter of undermining his relationship with their children, telling him he was “too f—— dumb” to operate a cell phone and claiming that the children had begun to mimic her behavior by spitting at him and throwing food, calling him “bad daddy.” He said that during her angry episodes, Porter would sometimes “claw and scratch her arms” and then tell him, “Look what you made me do!”
Porter’s Defense and Lasting Political Scars
In response to these allegations, Katie Porter has consistently presented a very different version of events. She filed her own request for a restraining order, accusing Hoffman of being the abusive partner. She alleged that he once called her a “dumb b—-,” a “despicable person,” and “f—— evil,” telling her she should “rot in hell.” Porter also claimed that Hoffman raged at their young son, telling the child, “You have taken a bad situation and made it a thousand times worse,” and that he punched a bathroom light switch, shattering it.
Porter has publicly identified herself as a “victim of domestic violence” and described leaving a “troubled” marriage to protect her family. Her campaign spokesperson has dismissed Hoffman’s reciprocal filing as a “common defensive tactic designed to intimidate a victim” and noted that Hoffman later expressed regret for making the allegations. Despite her denials, the story, particularly the mashed potato incident, has proven politically damaging. The allegations gained widespread attention during her 2023 Senate campaign and have been repeatedly brought up by critics and political opponents.
The divorce has remained a painful and public part of Porter’s story. In her 2023 memoir, she expressed regret over her decision to publicly air the details of her marriage, calling it “the only thing I’ve done in politics that I’m ashamed of.” She wrote that her children struggled with the publicity and acknowledged the impossible choice she felt between protecting her kids’ privacy and the political necessity of telling her story to get elected. For a politician known for her fierce public composure, the private turmoil of her past continues to be a defining, and perhaps inescapable, part of her narrative.
