Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota governor whom President Trump fired as homeland security secretary in March, has filed for divorce from her husband, Bryon Noem, after 34 years of marriage, according to court records.
Ms. Noem claimed “for settlement purposes only” that “irreconcilable differences” were to blame for the dissolution of the marriage, according to a complaint for divorce filed in Hamlin County, S.D., where she and Mr. Noem live in the small town of Castlewood.
The document was signed by Ms. Noem’s lawyer on April 6 but was not filed with the court until Monday.
“Kristi Noem has filed for the dissolution of her marriage to Bryon Noem,” her lawyer, Michael K. Sabers, said in a statement. “She has great faith in the South Dakota judicial system and will reserve any further comments for the legal process.”
Mr. Noem and his lawyer did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Ms. Noem, 54, and Mr. Noem, 56, were high school sweethearts who got engaged on the Fourth of July in 1991. They were married less than a year later, on May 23, 1992, in Watertown, S.D., where Ms. Noem was born. They have three adult children.
Mr. Noem, an insurance salesman, received intense public scrutiny in late March when The Daily Mail published what it said were images of him wearing what appeared to be large inflated balloons under a spandex shirt.
Ms. Noem said in a statement at the time that she was “devastated” by the images and that “the family was blindsided by this.” Mr. Noem declined to comment in March, responding in a text to a New York Times reporter: “I will at some point. Today is not the day. I appreciate your heart.”
While the images provoked online mockery, they touched off a more sympathetic reaction in Castlewood, where some residents said they felt sorry for Mr. Noem.
Ms. Noem’s personal life was also the focus of speculation and rumor in South Dakota and Washington.
On March 4, the day before Ms. Noem was fired as homeland security secretary, a Democratic member of Congress asked her at a hearing on Capitol Hill whether she had had sexual relations with her lieutenant, Corey Lewandowski. Responding under oath, Ms. Noem called the question “tabloid garbage.” But she did not say no. Mr. Noem accompanied Ms. Noem to the hearing.
Mr. Trump announced in November 2024 that he was selecting Ms. Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a position that put her in charge of the administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration and its large-scale deportation operation. The department includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Mr. Trump fired Ms. Noem in March, making her the first cabinet official ousted in his second term.
The immediate catalyst for her firing appeared to be her answers during two congressional hearings, particularly her statements asserting that Mr. Trump had approved of tens of millions of dollars in government ads in which Ms. Noem was prominently featured riding on horseback in chaps and a cowboy hat. Mr. Trump had denied that he was involved, telling Reuters in March, “I never knew anything about it.”
Ms. Noem had presided over other controversies during her tenure.
In January, federal immigration agents fatally shot two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during vigorous protests of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis. As bystander videos of the shootings caused a national outcry, Ms. Noem responded by accusing Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti of domestic terrorism.
When Mr. Trump announced that he was firing Ms. Noem and replacing her with Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, he said in a social media post that she had “served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results,” particularly on the border.
He also announced a new role for her: the previously nonexistent post of special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, which he said would be a new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere.
The post Kristi Noem Files for Divorce After 34 Years of Marriage appeared first on New York Times.
