Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota governor and former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has filed for divorce from her husband, Bryon Noem, according to court records.
Noem filed for divorce in Hamlin County, South Dakota, on April 6. However, the documents did not appear on the state’s online court service until Monday.
The filing cites irreconcilable differences as the basis for the divorce, according to the documents.
The couple tied the knot on May 23, 1992, the records show.
The filing comes after months of speculation swirling around the Noem marriage.
The divorce paperwork was submitted shortly after a tabloid leaked a photo in late March of Bryon Noem, who runs an insurance business in South Dakota.
Weeks before that, Bryon Noem had attended portions of a House Judiciary Committee hearing where his wife testified.
Some of the questions lawmakers raised during that hearing centered on Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, and his role with DHS.
Kristi Noem’s name has been repeatedly tied to Lewandowski over the years.
In 2021, a conservative online publication accused Noem and Lewandowski of having an affair. Noem fired back on social media, dismissing the allegations as “rumors” and blasting them as “total garbage and a disgusting lie.”
“These old, tired attacks on conservative women are based on a falsehood that we can’t achieve anything without a man’s help,” Noem wrote at the time. “I love Bryon. I’m proud of the God-fearing family we’ve raised together. Now I’m getting back to work.”
More recently, Bryon Noem was absent from a notable moment in his wife’s career.
He did not attend the Aug. 6 unveiling of Kristi Noem’s statue in Pierre, the state capital. Noem said her family, including Bryon, had stood behind her during her years as governor.
Noem led South Dakota as governor from Jan. 5, 2019, until Jan. 25, 2025. She resigned that post to become President Trump’s secretary of Homeland Security.
Her tenure at DHS ultimately came to an end when she was fired from the position. She was then named Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas.
The divorce filing marks a major turn in the personal life of a Republican figure who rose from the South Dakota governor’s mansion to a Cabinet-level post in Washington.
Throughout her political career, Noem frequently pointed to her family as a source of support. In her 2021 response to the affair allegations, she specifically highlighted her love for her husband and pride in the family the couple had raised together.
Now, more than three decades after the couple married, the court records show Noem is seeking to formally end the marriage.
The case was filed in Hamlin County, and the documents became publicly available online this week, months after the initial April filing date.
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