Kristi Noem Files for Divorce From Husband Bryon After 34 Years of Marriage

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has filed for divorce from her husband, Bryon Noem, ending a marriage that has lasted more than three decades.

Court records show Noem filed the divorce paperwork Monday in Hamlin County, South Dakota. The filing cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for ending the marriage.

Kristi and Bryon Noem married in 1992 after meeting while they were students in South Dakota. They have three adult children together, Kassidy, Kennedy and Booker, and are also grandparents.

The divorce comes months after reports surfaced about Bryon Noem’s alleged participation in online fetish communities. Reports published earlier this year alleged that he communicated extensively with women involved in the so-called “bimbofication” scene and shared photographs of himself wearing women’s clothing and exaggerated prosthetic breasts.

A representative for Kristi Noem said at the time that she was devastated by the revelations and that the family had been blindsided. Her mother, Corinne Arnold, later publicly indicated during the summer that the couple was heading toward divorce.

The filing also follows years of allegations surrounding Noem’s relationship with longtime Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski. Reports have alleged that the two had an extramarital relationship, but both Noem and Lewandowski have denied allegations of an affair.

Noem served as South Dakota governor before President Trump selected her to lead the Department of Homeland Security at the beginning of his second administration. She left DHS earlier this year and was subsequently appointed special envoy for the State Department’s Shield of the Americas security initiative.

Bryon largely maintained a lower public profile throughout his wife’s political career. He worked in agriculture and insurance and served as South Dakota’s first gentleman while Noem was governor.

The couple’s marital problems became increasingly public following the reports about Bryon’s online activity. Noem’s family initially requested privacy while dealing with the revelations, but speculation about an eventual divorce continued throughout the summer.

The filing now formally begins the process of dissolving a marriage that began before Noem entered politics and continued through her years in Congress, the South Dakota governor’s mansion and President Trump’s administration. Neither Kristi nor Bryon Noem had issued a detailed public statement about the divorce as of Tuesday afternoon.