The Sneaky Clue Kristi & Bryon Noem Haven't Called The Divorce Lawyers (Yet)

The weird things about Kristi Noem's marriage to Bryon Noem have set the rumor mill ablaze. Chief among the glaring signs that the Noems are headed for divorce is Kristi's rumored affair with Corey Lewandowski. However, a December 2025 Instagram post shared by Bryon and the secretary of Homeland Security's daughter, Kennedy Frick, provides strong evidence that Kristi and Bryon haven't taken any concrete steps to end their marriage — at least not yet.

The first picture in the carousel showed Kennedy sitting next to Bryon while her baby daughter handed a cracker to her grandfather. In addition to this sweet gesture, the photo captured Bryon's left hand from up close, showing that he still had his wedding ring on. Kristi, for her part, also still appears to wear her wedding ring. Other signs paint a more complicated picture of the state of their relationship, though. Kristi and Bryon's living situation has gotten many to wonder if their marriage is just for show at this point. 

Since being sworn in, Kristi has lived in Washington, D.C., while Bryon has opted to stay in South Dakota. But that's not the end of it. It turns out that Lewandowski, who is also her chief adviser, lives across from her in the Navy Yard neighborhood. And he is rumored to spend quite a bit of time in her building. "I've seen them together here both in the elevator and in common areas," a source told the Daily Mail in April 2025. The rumors are pretty widespread, but the Noems seem to be keeping up appearances for now.

Their actions suggest that Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski don't try hard to squash the affair rumors. That's said to be true at work as well. And officials at the Department of Homeland Security are reportedly getting tired of it. "Things are (explicit)," a source told The Bulwark in December 2025 (via Radar). "It's horrible, they're going to destroy this place." The insider went so far as to conjecture that Noem might lose the secretary position over the rumored affair. "I'm just hoping the new secretary gets here in time," the source added.

This isn't the first time Noem's relationship with Donald Trump's former campaign manager might have hindered their political aspirations. After assuming her role at the DHS, Noem wanted Lewandowski as her chief of staff. But the president had concerns about how this could have been perceived, The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2025. They settled for chief adviser, but Trump remained wary of the situation.

Shortly before the one-year mark of his second presidential term, rumors started doing the rounds about potential shakeups in his Cabinet. Sources told CNN that while the president had no complaints about Noem, he disliked the influence exerted by Lewandowski. "Yes, he likes [Noem], but it has been brought to his attention that [Lewandowski] is a problem, and the agency is being mismanaged because of it," a White House insider said. Lewandowski was once close to Trump, so this supposed fallout might have dire consequences for his career.