Damning Rumors About Kristi Noem's Relationship With Her Husband

Kristi Noem's marriage has been the talk of the town for years, but unfortunately for the Secretary of Homeland Security, wild rumors continue to proliferate. Between the never-ending claims that she and aide Corey Lewandowski are having an affair and the fact that Kristi and her husband don't seem to have cohabited in years, there's a lot to unpack. By now, most people are well aware of the speculation that Kristi has long been unfaithful to her husband, Bryon Noem. The timeline of the Kristi Noem-Corey Lewandowski affair claims stretches way back to 2019, though reports of their alleged entanglement only began doing the rounds proper in 2021, with an unnamed insider dishing to conservative outlet American Greatness, "There are members of Congress close to Mar-a-Lago who have called the affair an 'open secret.'" 

Kristi swiftly denied that on X, formerly known as Twitter, and for a short while, the chatter died down. But, two years later, another damning report emerged, this time from the Daily Mail. Among the shocking claims made in that article was that Kristi and Lewandowski regularly behaved inappropriately on work trips (even allegedly booking hotel rooms together), and that their PDA was so overt that strangers actually assumed they were married.

Unfortunately for Kristi, the new article derailed her original defense, which was that American Greatness's claims were: "Based on a falsehood that [women] can't achieve anything without a man's help." Even Megyn Kelly, who previously backed her up, believing the then-Governor of South Dakota's denials, posited in an episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show" that if the Daily Mail was running a story about an affair, "You're probably having an affair [...] As sort of 'tabloidy' as some people believe they are, they really are fact-based, and they don't like getting sued." 

Once the Daily Mail published their initial report on Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski's alleged affair, several other outlets ran further exposés on the rumored dynamic between the Secretary of Homeland Security and her husband, Bryon Noem. Spoiler alert: None of them painted a pretty picture. In 2023, sources who spoke with the New York Post brought up the Noems' weird living situation. According to one insider, the then-first gentleman of South Dakota had ceased to call the Pierre governor's mansion his home since 2021. Sure enough, The South Dakota Standard's Tom Lawrence confirmed, "I do know that a moving van was spotted at the home at the time." 

That said, he also noted that after some digging, there was no concrete evidence to suggest that the Noems had split up, or even that it was Bryon who was moving out. Lawrence also pointed out, "There were rumors of a divorce, but when I checked at the Hamlin County Courthouse, the Stanley Courthouse and others, there was no filing on record." Likewise, multiple outlets argued that Bryon had his own business that wasn't based in Pierre, while Kristi spent many of her weekends at their farm, which remained the family's base while their son finished school. 

Even so, there were still a number of odd details. Writing for the Aberdeen News, Lawrence revealed that several sources informed him Lewandowski had stayed at the mansion. While he clarified that that wouldn't automatically be cause for concern, the reporter nonetheless found it interesting that Kristi's spokesperson, Ian Fury, wouldn't answer when he asked about it. 

Kristi Noem might not live with her husband all of the time, but it does seem as though her and Corey Lewandowski's living quarters are ideally located. An April 2025 report in the Daily Mail detailed that when it came time to pick out their home bases in Washington, D.C., the colleagues opted for neighboring apartment buildings. Of course, we could posit that being across the road from each other had professional perks, like easy access for emergency meetings and being able to carpool to and from the office (though given Kristi Noem's out-of-touch and wildly lavish lifestyle, we're not sure that would be much of a concern to her). But, according to insiders, the duo was regularly hanging out during their downtime as well. One source who lived in the same building as Kristi shared, "I've seen them together here both in the elevator and in common areas." 

They were also well aware of the affair rumors, noting, "Don't forget D.C. is a small town and people talk. It is an open secret that they are together." In addition to speaking with Kristi's neighbor, the Daily Mail sent a photographer to the street between the two apartment buildings, and sure enough, they captured Lewandowski walking out of the Secretary of Homeland Security's building not just once, but twice. As you may recall, Bryon Noem was in D.C. for a governor's dinner that February, and likely around Easter as well. Maybe Lewandowski was helping Kristi set something up for his visit? Daily Mail readers certainly didn't think so, though, with one even calling both Kristi and Lewandowski out for 'humiliating' their spouses with their behavior.

Despite his Instagram comments sections regularly being filled with taunts about his wife's rumored infidelity, Bryon Noem has never publicly spoken about the allegations. In fact, he's taken a dignified stance by not addressing them, and for a long time, he even continued to share sweet posts in honor of birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine's Day. However, it's possible that came to be too big an ask over time, because from mid-2024, Bryon pretty much went cold turkey. Despite not posting pics on his own account, Bryon continued to make appearances on Kristi's social media. Granted, not everyone was convinced by their attempts at showcasing a united front, with many saying the Noems' awkward posed photos screamed divorce. 

Even worse, their 2025 birthday posts for one another were notably different from years past. In fact, Bryon Noem snubbed Kristi's birthday entirely. While some couples might not be particularly fussed, Bryon used to be all about a gushy public statement. Case in point, in 2023 he penned a lengthy Instagram caption, calling his longtime wife, "A sweetheart and so talented and a pleasure to be with." However, the bigger smoking gun was Kristi's 2025 post for Bryon's birthday, which left out one telling word: husband. "Thank you for being a great dad and grandpa," she wrote. 

Unsurprisingly, Kristi received a ton of hate comments on the post. "You love him so much but yet you cheat on him?" wrote one Instagram user. "You love him or Corey?" asked another. Evidently, it got to be too much for the Trump staffer, because she ended up limiting comments. However, a few managed to slip through the cracks, and called her out for doing so.

Bryon Noem might not be posting his wife on social media anymore, but he's also never directly addressed the rumors about their marriage either. On top of that, Bryon came out of hiding in December 2025 when Kristi Noem testified at the House Committee on Homeland Security. Other than looking exhausted, his being there certainly seemed supportive. However, we wouldn't go as far as saying he's fine with her relationship (working or otherwise) with Corey Lewandowski. In fact, some reports have indicated that Kristi hid the fact that she and Lewandowski had continued working together after he'd been fired for harassing a Trump donor's wife in Las Vegas in 2021. 

According to a Daily Mail insider, Bryon absolutely loathes his wife's colleague. Naturally, the Las Vegas incident didn't exactly change that. As another source explained to the outlet, "When Las Vegas happened, [Kristi] fired him without really firing him [...] Her husband would have lost his mind." In order to prevent anything getting out to Bryon, Kristi kept things purposely vague with her staffers, though two former employees claimed that she later specifically told them not to let Bryon see her schedule, which had countless engagements with Lewandowski documented on it. 

However, another ex-staffer denied there was any truth to the Noem-Lewandowski affair rumors, telling the Washington Examiner, "Under no circumstances would I say that she stepped out on the marriage [...] He's [Lewandowski] horrible. She's not stupid. She knows that." The former employee mused that their close relationship had more to do with access, and perhaps that is the case. But the sheer number of sources saying otherwise has us questioning that assertion, and based on the ongoing social media chatter, we're not the only ones who remain skeptical.