Kristi Noem has filed for divorce from her husband, Bryon Noem, after 34 years of marriage and following his public “bimbo” scandal.
According to court documents obtained by Us on Tuesday, September 29, Kristi, 54, filed paperwork to dissolve her marriage on April 6, in South Dakota’s Hamlin County. The former Secretary of Homeland Security cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split.
Us has reached out to Kristi’s lawyer and Bryon for comment.
Kristi and Bryon, 56, tied the knot in May 1992. The pair share three children: daughters Kassidy and Kennedy, and son Booker. Kristi and Bryon are also grandparents to Kassidy and Kennedy’s children.
Earlier this year, Bryon made headlines after he was accused of living a double life. The Daily Mail published photos of Bryon wearing fake breasts, claiming Byron allegedly paid to speak to models in the “bimbofication” scene via online forums. (Bimbofication refers to individuals who have undergone surgical enhancements in an effort to look more doll-like.)
Bryon has not publicly commented on the reports. However, Kristi addressed the scandal in a statement made by her spokesperson.
“Ms. Noem is devastated,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the New York Post in March. “The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time.”
That same month as her husband’s scandal, President Donald Trump terminated Kristi’s role as Secretary of Homeland Security, reassigning the former governor to what many have criticized as the “superfluous” role of United States Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas. Trump, 80, also addressed Bryon’s scandal.
“I feel badly for the family, if that’s the case. That’s too bad,” Trump told the Daily Mail in March. “I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it.”
Four months after the scandal made headlines, Kristi’s mother claimed that her daughter told her she was going to file for divorce while they attended a family get-together.
“She doesn’t tell me what she thinks. Finally, I said, ‘What’s the deal? Are you going to get together again?’” Corinne Arnold claimed to the Daily Mail in July. “And she said, ‘No. No. We’re going to get a divorce.’ And I said, ‘Who is your lawyer?’ And she said it was somebody from Sioux Falls.”
Arnold continued, “I feel bad, sick that they’re getting a divorce, but what else can you do? The way that I brought up my kids, I know that they don’t just jump into big decisions. It took a long time for her to figure it out.”
