He's a republican that:
In March 2019, Bevin said in an interview that he deliberately exposed all nine of his children to chickenpox so they would "catch the disease and become immune."[287]
In May 2023, Glenna Bevin filed for divorce. The divorce petition stated the marriage was "irretrievably broken" and that the couple had been separated for more than a year.[288] On May 1, 2024, a Jefferson Circuit Judge granted Glenna Bevin's motion to limit Matt Bevin's access to their residence and property after his wife labeled his conduct "aggressive and unsettling."[289] Their divorce was finalized in March 2025.[290]
In late 2019 after losing the governorship, Bevin sent his adopted son Jonah (first identified in the media with the pseudonym "Noah" in 2024) to Atlantis Leadership Academy in Jamaica.[291][292] The school, an unlicensed "troubled teen" program, was later shut down following an unannounced inspection of the facility on February 8, 2024, by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) after being alerted by the U.S. Embassy of possible abuse and neglect. The CPFSA and embassy officials found eight American boys aged 14–18 confined in primitive conditions without soap, toothpaste, lavatory paper or even running water in one bathroom. They were removed immediately and transferred by court order the following day into the interim legal custody of the CPFSA. When no Bevin family member or representative claimed Jonah, a judge ordered he be made a ward of the Jamaican State.[293][294]
In February 2025, Jonah Bevin publicly shared his account of severe abuse and neglect at Atlantis Leadership Academy, including violent beatings, starvation, and forms of torture.[292][295] After returning to the United States in May 2024 and obtaining a high school diploma, he was left homeless at age 18. On March 7, 2025, a Jefferson County, Kentucky judge issued a temporary protective order against Matt Bevin, restricting him from contacting Jonah Bevin and requiring him to relinquish all firearms in his possession until a March 19, 2025, hearing.[296] In March 2025, a deal was reached wherein the protective order would remain in place against the former governor for six months before the court case would end and an indefinite civil restraining order would begin. Any violations would result in additional hearings. Both adoptive parents are also required to provide Jonah with "any information or documents related to [his biological] family, whether they're alive or not".[297]
