Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is planning to divorce her husband, Bryon Noem, according to one family member.
“It has been difficult, but we knew this was coming, that they were going to get divorced,” Kristi’s mom, Corinne Arnold, claimed to the Daily Mail in an interview published on Friday, July 10, months after his alleged secret double life was exposed, per the report.
Arnold, 77, told the publication that she last saw her daughter with Bryon, 56, at a family birthday event in late spring. During the gathering, Arnold claims Kristi, 55, shared her plans.
“She doesn’t tell me what she thinks. Finally, I said, ‘What’s the deal? Are you going to get together again?’” Arnold recalled. “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.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Kristi and Bryon for comment. Us has been unable to locate any divorce docs as of press time.
“I feel bad, sick that they’re getting a divorce, but what else can you do?” Arnold said. “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.”
Kristi and Bryon met in high school before tying the knot in 1992. They share three adult children and have also become grandparents.
“I haven’t seen him now for a couple months, since the party. It’s sad,” Arnold said in her interview. “You have to remember that Bryon’s been in our family for many years. The sad part is that he’s a grandpa. And the little kiddies love him. We all love him, like you would your family.”
Kristi was nominated to serve as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security in 2025. In March, Trump, 80, removed her from office and reassigned her to a new role as “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas.”
That same month, Bryon made headlines for his alleged secret double life after the Daily Mail published photos of him wearing fake breasts. It was also reported that he has been seen on fetish sites. (Bryon has yet to publicly comment on the reports.)
“Ms. Noem is devastated,” a spokesperson for the former United States Secretary of Homeland Security said in a statement to the New York Post on March 31. “The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time.”
The president also previously reacted to the reports of Kristi’s husband earlier this year.
“I feel badly for the family if that’s the case, that’s too bad,” Trump told the Daily Mail. “I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anything about it. That’s too bad, but I just know nothing about it.”
