United States House Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC) doesn’t mince words about his opinions on gender-affirming health care, describing the life-saving treatments as “mutilation.” He’s vocal about his support for Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, and he boasts about his conservative values, which he describes as pro-family, pro-parent and pro-life.
It’s those values, however, Duncan apparently threw away and abandoned after a divorce filing from his wife of 30 years was brought to light by the Index-Journal — a local news publication in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Melody Duncan alleged infidelity when she filed for divorce last Friday at the Laurens County Courthouse. She accused the representative of 13 years of multiple extramarital affairs, including moving out of their shared house to live with his mistress, lobbyist Liz Williams. The U.S. House’s lobbying disclosure page shows a lobbying firm under the name Liz Williams and Co. with seven clients, one of which is Delta Air Lines.
The filing also contained information regarding an event hosted by Duncan, the “Faith and Freedom BBQ,” where he described his marriage and stated he had a “supportive and loving wife, portraying himself as a dedicated, dutiful husband” according to the court documents. Melody then said the next day, Duncan went to “the home of his paramour” in the Washington, D.C. area, where she learned that’s where her husband lived.
She went on to say she believed political circles in South Carolina and Washington were aware of Duncan’s extramarital activities, and she felt compelled to leave Duncan after seeing him “presenting a false narrative of a loveless marriage [to Melody] to justify the hypocrisy of his public statements and private actions.”
Duncan has served seven two-year terms in the U.S. House of Representatives since he was first elected. He serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as chairman of the subcommittee on energy, climate and grid security. He is up for reelection in 2024.
Melody is seeking permanent, periodic alimony, possession and exclusive use of their home in South Carolina and their property in Montana. She is also asking the court to declare Duncan “solely responsible for outstanding debts and obligations, to maintain health insurance for her, be responsible for both their uncovered medical expenses, among other things,” according to the Index-Journal.