Did GOP congressman Max Miller throw boiling water at his ex

This story includes references to domestic violence and child abuse. - The allegation that U.S. Rep. Max Miller, an Ohio Republican, threw boiling water at his then-wife, Emily Moreno, is still under investigation amid a bitter divorce and custody battle. - On May 7, 2026, British tabloid the Daily Mail published a report claiming that Moreno, who is the daughter of Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, accused Miller of throwing boiling water at her and beating her during a 2024 incident. The Daily Mail's story includes images appearing to show bruising and redness on Moreno's body from Miller's alleged abuse. - On May 1 3 , Miller sued Moreno for defamation and denied all abuse allegations, including the claim that he threw boiling water at her. Miller also claimed in a May 8 X post that Sen. Bernie Moreno was funding his daughter's "malicious campaign" to "ruin" Miller's life despite the senator's "knowledge of her mental health issues." - A February 2026 police report from an investigation into suspected child abuse involving Miller's young daughter mentioned a "hot water" incident in relation to domestic violence, although the names in the report are redacted. The investigation determined in April 2026 that claims related to abuse were "unsubstantiated." - Snopes will update this report if, or when, additional information surfaces. We await responses to our inquiries from the Morenos. As U.S. Rep. Max Miller, an Ohio Republican, fought a lengthy custody battle with his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, a rumor spread in spring 2026 that the representative once threw boiling water at her. The claim spread on X, Facebook and Threads. Snopes readers also searched our website for information about whether Miller threw boiling water at Moreno. The rumor originated from a May 7 report by the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, which claimed that Moreno accused Miller of "years of documented physical abuse," including an alleged 2024 incident where the congressman supposedly threw a pot of boiling water at Moreno, who is the daughter of Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. The Daily Mail's report relied on three anonymous sources, court filings the newspaper said it obtained and images appearing to show the aftermath of Miller's alleged abuse. Miller has categorically denied Emily Moreno's allegations of his supposed abusive behavior, including in a defamation lawsuit filed against his ex-wife on May 13. In a May 8 X post (archived), Miller accused his ex-father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, of funding and enabling "his daughter's malicious campaign to ruin [Miller's] life despite [the senator's] knowledge of her mental health issues." A spokesperson for Miller said via email that the Moreno's attorney, Andrew Zashin, did not return repeated attempts to contact him. The journalist behind the Daily Mail's story, Phillip Nieto, also did not return a request for more information about his reporting process. Miller and Moreno Some claims also refer to Miller as a "MAGA congressman." Here's what we know about Moreno's allegations. Boiling water claim originates from Daily Mail report The Daily Mail's report is available on the tabloid's website behind a paywall. A black-and-white version is included in The article includes detailed allegations about various instances of Miller's supposed abusive behavior toward Moreno Here's an excerpt of the Daily Mail's report, focusing on the boiling water allegation (emphasis ours): The claims trace back to June 9, 2024, when tensions between the couple first erupted. During an argument inside their Ohio home about their marriage and custody of their daughter, the Congressman allegedly hurled a pot of boiling water at Emily. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the incident say some of the water struck Emily's chest, with their daughter looking on. Emily documented her injuries the same day in a photo that appears to show redness across her upper chest. A handwritten letter allegedly written by Miller to Moreno the same day as the boiling water incident shows the Congressman apologizing to his then-wife for failing to protect her, though he does not admit to any physical abuse. The Daily Mail also published what it said was the photo of Moreno's chest. That picture (below) then circulated online. (X user @MikeJon10117875) Moreno's attorney reportedly told the Daily Mail: The photographic evidence speaks for itself. These images, combined with the documented history in court filings, directly contradict years of Mr Miller's denial [ ... ] Any claim that Ms Moreno fabricated these allegations collapses in the face of contemporaneous physical evidence. Miller's public denial In a May 7 X post (archived), Miller called the Daily Mail's report "nothing but lies." In a long thread below that post, Miller shared screenshots of his legal team's apparent response to the newspaper's inquiries, as well as transcripts and audio recordings that Miller supposedly captured at the time, without Moreno's knowledge, "out of concern that she would make false allegations against him down the road." In a recording Miller said was from 2024, "after the alleged 'Boiling Water' incident," Moreno appeared to say (at 0:35), "I don't think you would ever hurt me, physically, but you have hurt me." The recording also seemed to include Moreno saying, "What Stephanie did to you was wrong," an apparent reference to Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary during Trump's first term and Miller's Grisham also The recordings Miller shared feature no obvious signs of manipulation. Miller files defamation lawsuit against Moreno Miller's May 13 defamation lawsuit against Moreno accuses her and the law firm representing her, Zashin Law, of engaging in a coordinated campaign to "malign his character, undermine his odds at re-election to Congress, and falsely portray him as a violent and abusive father and husband" ( PDF Moreno's spokesperson reportedly told Cleveland.com, a reputable local news media site, that Miller was upset he could not silence Moreno and that the defamation lawsuit showed him "running the same playbook" that he used on Grisham. Inside the custody filings Cuyahoga County provided Snopes with about 1,500 Moreno did, in multiple filings, accuse Miller of physical and verbal threats and harassment. For example, in a March 2026 Another April 2026 Miller denied all of Moreno's accusations related to his allegedly violent behavior in the filings and repeatedly referenced her supposed " 'Hot water' incident mentioned in police report While there is no record of the alleged incident in court filings relating to the custody case, documents from a 2026 police investigation of suspected child abuse involving Miller's young daughter refer to a "hot water" incident in 2024. Snopes obtained 48 pages of investigative documents from the Bay Village Police Department in Ohio. Per those documents, law enforcement determined allegations made in relation to any sort of abuse were "unsubstantiated" (Page 45). (Law enforcement redacted all names of the people involved in the report sent to Snopes. However, police sent it in response to an emailed request for documents related to "a child abuse report against Rep. Max Miller.") Based on the underlying context, the report appears to state that Moreno alleged that she took a picture of bruising on her body after Miller "threw her against the wall" (Page 2). The report also references "alleged Domestic Violence incidents" on Page 3, including one in 2024 in which a redacted name, presumably Miller, "threw hot water" on someone, presumably Moreno, who sustained injuries. Miller and his legal team floated various reasons why Moreno might make false allegations on Page 19 of the report, with Miller claiming Moreno was not "well" and his attorney suggesting she was not receiving "desired attention." The bottom line The boiling water allegation is one of many abuse accusations Moreno has made against Miller amid a lengthy and public divorce and custody battle. Miller has a history of weathering abuse allegations — and this is not the first time he has filed a defamation lawsuit as a result. As of this writing, none of Moreno's allegations have been proven in court and there is no definitive evidence her claims are true. That does not mean Miller is absolved of Moreno's accusations, but it does mean we cannot rate this claim.