Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels' wife has officially filed for divorce after an extramarital affair blossomed into a large scandal.
Denise Amelia Daniels filed within the Duval County court system on Friday.
In the complaint for the dissolution of their marriage, it states that the petition should be granted because "the marriage is irretrievably broken."
The couple got married in Dade County on Nov. 11 in 1985.
The extramarital affair initially came to light as part of an Internal Affairs report into Duval County corrections officer Cierra Smith, who Daniels supervised when he was the Jail Director.
Smith confirmed having sexual relations with Daniels when he was a jail director, but it still rocked the Clay County Sheriff's Office. First Coast News was told by a source, "his high-level staff has lost confidence in him."
A JSO internal affairs report released in May documented a messy relationship between Daniels and Smith that began sometime after Smith was hired to work at the Duval County jail in 2013. It’s not clear when the relationship ended, but it did not end well. A report from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office indicates Daniels summoned his own agency to have Smith arrested for stalking.
In a recording obtained by First Coast News, the sheriff acknowledges making payments to Smith over a period of several years.
The following exchange is between Daniels and his wife Denise, both of whom are being secretly recorded by Cierra Smith’s estranged husband.
DENISE So from [20]14 to [20]15 and now we’re in [20]19, and three months ago from what I understand she was still reaching out to Darryl for money.
DARRYL She was doing more than reaching.
DENISE So what was she doing? What you mean more than reaching?
DARRYL She was receiving money.
DENISE OK, so she was receiving money from you all the way up until three months ago in 2019?
DARRYL Yeah.
RELATED: UPDATE | Clay County sheriff gave money to woman he had affair with over a period of several years
Daniels has declined multiple requests for comment after the affair came to light and he says he is also not speaking about this latest development.