Six months passed between a Daily Mail exposé and a divorce petition. Now the husband at the center of both says he has a story to tell.
Kristi Noem filed for divorce Monday in Hamlin County Court, in her home state of South Dakota. The petition ends a marriage that began in 1992.
Within hours, Bryon Noem’s lawyer issued a statement. Attorney Tim Bottum spoke for his client in three parts, starting with the emotional toll.
“Bryon is saddened that the marriage is ending and hopes for a private and amicable resolution,” Bottum said.
Next, he laid out what Bryon would do if talks fall apart. “If court proceedings become necessary, Bryon will welcome the opportunity to truthfully share his perspective.”
Bottum finished by turning to the couple’s relatives. “Bryon’s priority is to protect the family and move forward as loving parents and grandparents.”
Those relatives include three grown children. Daughters Kassidy, 31, and Kennedy, 29, and son Booker, 23, are the couple’s children. Kassidy and Kennedy both have children of their own.
Bryon is 56. Kristi is 54. She served as South Dakota’s governor before taking over the Department of Homeland Security.
The timeline of the marriage’s public unraveling began with the Daily Mail. The British outlet reported that Bryon had an infatuation with sex workers and OnlyFans models.
The paper also published photographs it said showed him posing seductively in oversized prosthetic breasts. It connected him to an online fetish community known as “bimbofication”.
The outlet then followed the money. It reported that Bryon sent roughly $25,000 through Cash app and PayPal to one woman he met in that community.
A second woman, who works in the sex trade under the name “Barbie Doll,” gave the Daily Mail receipts that reach back to January 2023. They show more than $30,000 in payments from an account allegedly linked to Bryon.
The Noem camp responded when The New York Post asked about the story. A spokesperson for Kristi said she was “devastated.”
The spokesperson went on: “The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time.”
Noem’s career took a separate turn in March. President Donald Trump removed her from the top job at DHS.
His decision followed a congressional hearing. Lawmakers questioned her there about alleged “sexual relations” with Corey Lewandowski, who worked as a special government employee at the department.
Noem did not directly answer the question.
Lewandowski, a former Trump campaign adviser, is married and has four children. Rumors of a romantic relationship between him and Noem have trailed her for a long time.
The Post reported that the two were seen biking along the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota as recently as last month.
Bottum’s statement does not say whether the divorce will reach a courtroom. It only states that Bryon is ready if it does.
