Fact Check: Is the claim Ken Paxton traveled to Iceland with an alleged mistress true?

WASHINGTON, DC: A viral video circulating across social media claims to show Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton traveling to Iceland with a woman described online as his alleged mistress. 

The claim gained traction in late June 2026 after posts spread widely on X, Facebook, and TikTok, with some accounts, including the official Texas Democrats Instagram account, sharing the footage as purported evidence.

Claim: Ken Paxton traveled to Iceland with his alleged mistress

The rumor originated with a June 28 post on X by The Lincoln Project, a political group founded by moderate conservatives to oppose President Donald Trump and his allies.

The group shared a video with the caption, "Hey @KenPaxtonTX, that's not your wife." In later posts, it referred to the woman in the footage as Paxton's "mistress" and "some lady who's not his wife," indicating that it either did not know or chose not to identify her by name.

The woman's face is never clearly visible in the video, and she wears sunglasses throughout the footage, making it impossible to identify her with certainty. However, the woman does not appear to be Paxton's wife, whose facial features do not match those of the individual shown in the clip.

The footage quickly spread across social media, with several accounts, including the official Texas Democrats Instagram account, sharing the video. The clip appears to show Paxton rubbing the woman's shoulder. 

In its caption, the Texas Democrats wrote: "At a time when many Texans can barely afford the basics, Paxton's jetting off to Iceland ahead of the 4th of July for a luxury vacation with his mistress."

Fact Check: Unverified, no evidence to support the claim

The claim remains unconfirmed because the available evidence does not establish whether the video is authentic or whether Ken Paxton traveled to Iceland with a woman described online as his alleged mistress.

While the footage continues to circulate on social media, no credible evidence has verified the allegation or conclusively identified the woman in the video.

Paxton has previously faced credible allegations of an extramarital affair involving a different woman. His wife, Republican Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce in 2025, citing adultery.

Although the couple separated in June 2024, they remain legally married because the divorce proceedings were still pending at the time of writing. Paxton has denied his wife's allegations of infidelity.

At the same time, investigators have found no evidence that the video was fabricated or digitally manipulated. Likewise, no evidence has emerged to confirm that Paxton was in Iceland with the woman when the footage was recorded or shared online.

A review of Paxton's campaign website, his C-SPAN Senate campaign page, official news releases from the Texas Attorney General's Office, and his social media accounts found no indication that he was in the United States or scheduled to appear at campaign events during the period of his alleged trip to Iceland.

However, the absence of a public schedule alone does not confirm that the claim is true.