Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Kristi Noem was “devastated” and “blindsided” by a new report detailing her husband’s apparent presence in online fetish communities. The story, which came out less than a month after she was fired from her role as head of the Department of Homeland Security, spread quickly this week after the Daily Mail published images of Bryon Noem, prompting both a statement from Kristi and a comment from President Trump.
On Tuesday, the Daily Mail published photos of Bryon, Kristi’s husband of 34 years, seemingly wearing a large pair of fake breasts under a tight top and a pair of pink hot pants. The tabloid claimed that Bryon was chatting online with women who are part of the “bimbofication scene,” which the outlet described as “where porn performers transform themselves into real-life Barbie dolls by pumping colossal amounts of saline into their breasts.” According to the outlet, Bryon sent these women at least $25,000 via Cash App and PayPal. During his conversations with them, he allegedly shared his fondness for “huge, huge ridiculous boobs” and made “indiscreet remarks” about his marriage.
In a statement to the New York Post following the Daily Mail report, a spokesperson for Kristi said, “Ms. Noem is devastated. The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at this time.”
After Kristi’s statement was published, the Daily Mail reached out to Trump for a comment. “They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad,” the president apparently said in a phone call. “I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it.”
Kristi and Bryon have been married since 1992 and share three grown children. Last year, reporting from Intelligencer said it was “widely understood” by DHS staffers that Kristi was romantically involved with her de facto chief of staff, Corey Lewandowski (they have both denied this).
Bryon has not yet made a formal statement, but in responding to a request for an interview with the New York Times, he wrote in a text message, “I will at some point. Today is not the day. I appreciate your heart.”
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