Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has filed for divorce from her husband of over three decades, Bryon Noem, six months after a tabloid published photos that appeared to show him wearing women’s clothing and fake breasts and reported that he maintained a secret online presence in which he communicated with adult performers.
Court documents reviewed by MS NOW show that Kristi Noem initiated the filing on Monday in Hamlin County, South Dakota, citing irreconcilable differences.
Kristi Noem’s attorneys signed the documents on April 6, though they were not filed with the court until Monday. The complaint contains a temporary restraining order that prevents either party transferring assets or from “harassing, molesting, or disturbing the peace of the other,” as required by law in South Dakota.
In a statement provided to MS NOW, her attorney, Michael Sabers, said Kristi Noem “has great faith in the South Dakota judicial system and will reserve any further comments for the legal process.”
The Noems share three children and four grandchildren. Bryon Noem is a longtime insurance agent and became South Dakota’s inaugural first gentleman after Kristi Noem was elected the state’s first female governor in 2018.
Images first published by the Daily Mail in March appear to show Bryon Noem wearing women’s clothing and posing with makeshift exaggerated features, while also engaging in hundreds of online conversations with individuals in the so-called “bimbofication” scene.
MS NOW has not independently verified the images or the Daily Mail’s reporting, and it remains unclear how the material was obtained.
A spokesperson for Noem told the New York Post in March that she is “devastated” and the “family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time.”
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Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky.