Bondi married Garret Barnes in 1990, and they divorced after 22 months. In 1996, Bondi married Scott Fitzgerald. Their marriage ended in divorce after 6 years.
Bondi's hometown is Temple Terrace, Florida. Her father, Joseph Bondi, was a city council member and then Mayor of Temple Terrace. She is a graduate of C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida. Bondi graduated from the University of Florida in 1987 with a degree in Criminal Justice and was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority at Florida. She then graduated from Stetson Law School with a JD in 1990 and was admitted to the Florida Bar on June 24, 1991.
Bondi prosecuted former Major League Baseball player Dwight Gooden in 2006 for violating the terms of his probation and for substance abuse. In 2007, Bondi also prosecuted the defendants in Martin Anderson's death.
In 2010, Bondi defeated Democratic State Senator Dan Gelber by a 55% to 41% margin to become the Attorney General of the State of Florida.
In 2013, Bondi persuaded Governor Rick Scott to postpone a scheduled execution because it conflicted with her reelection kickoff/fundraising event. After questions were raised in the media, Bondi apologized for moving the execution date.
Bondi was re-elected in November 2014, receiving 55% of the vote. Her challenger, George Sheldon, received 42%.
Bondi has opposed same-sex marriage and other LGBT issues on behalf of the state. Following the Orlando nightclub shooting in June 2016, Bondi was interviewed by CNN reporter Anderson Cooper, who questioned her about her sudden change in attitude towards the LGBT community in Florida. Bondi claimed to not only support the gay community, but had posted as such on her website. This statement was later shown to be false. Bondi in a radio interview stated that the CNN interview had not been aired in its entirety and most of it was left on the cutting room floor, omitting the portion about potential scamming of survivors' families. While the entire interview had been aired live, only the portion involving Bondi's position on LGBT issues was originally uploaded to the CNN website. The website featured the interview in its entirety following this comment.
