Yes, Kristi Noem is still married to her husband, Bryon Noem. No divorce papers have been filed in South Dakota as of March 24, 2026. Journalist Tom Lawrence of the South Dakota Standard confirmed he checked the Hamlin County Courthouse and surrounding county courthouses in person and found no filing on record.
But the marriage has been under pressure that few public couples have faced in recent memory. Noem was fired as Secretary of Homeland Security on March 5, 2026, after two days of bruising congressional hearings where she was asked, directly, on camera, whether she had a sexual relationship with political operative Corey Lewandowski. She never said no. Bryon was sitting behind her for part of it. His own family has since spoken publicly, and what they told the New York Post is worth reading closely.
Table of Contents
Kristi Noem Marriage Status: Current Facts
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Legally married? | Yes |
| Divorce papers filed? | No (courthouse confirmed) |
| Bryon’s public statement on affair | None |
| Living in same location? | No — Bryon in South Dakota, Kristi in Washington |
| Affair denied under oath? | Not directly |
| Corey Lewandowski still at DHS? | No — departed March 2026 |
| Kristi’s current position | Special Envoy for Shield of the Americas |
How Kristi and Bryon Noem’s Relationship Started
Kristi and Bryon both grew up on farms in Hamlin County, South Dakota. He was friends with her older brother. She had a crush on him in high school but kept quiet about it until he left for college. They started dating shortly after.
On July 4, 1991, Bryon proposed from his grandfather’s boat on Lake Kampeska. They married on May 23, 1992, when Kristi was 20 years old and studying at Northern State University.
They built their life in Castlewood, South Dakota, raising three children: daughters Kassidy and Kennedy, and son Booker. Bryon owns and operates Noem Insurance, and largely ran the household on his own as Kristi’s career moved through the South Dakota state legislature in 2007, then Congress in 2011, then the governor’s office in 2019.
He was open about his role. “Everything we do, we do together,” he told the Black Hills Pioneer in 2019 when Kristi was first elected governor. “This decision was made together, and we knew things would look different if she won.”
As recently as May 2024, Bryon posted on Instagram for their 32nd anniversary: “Happy 32nd anniversary to my favorite gal in the whole wide world. It’s been a heckuva ride and I’m so glad to have been on it with you. I love you Dear. You bless me.”
That kind of public warmth has not appeared since.
Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski: How the Affair Rumors Developed
The questions about Noem’s marriage do not start in 2026. They go back five years, and the story moved in distinct stages:
September 2021: Conservative outlet American Greatness publishes the first report alleging a romantic relationship between Noem, then governor of South Dakota, and political operative Corey Lewandowski. Sources told the outlet that members of Congress referred to it as an “open secret.” Noem called the report a “disgusting lie.”
September 2023: The New York Post and the Daily Mail each publish separate reports on the alleged relationship. A source tells the Post that Bryon had not been living in Kristi’s Pierre, South Dakota home for roughly two years. Tom Lawrence checked the courthouses. No divorce filing existed.
September 2025: New York Magazine publishes a detailed report stating the relationship between Noem and Lewandowski was ongoing and that Lewandowski was effectively running day-to-day operations at the Department of Homeland Security. A FEMA official told the magazine: “Everybody knows they’re together. Can I prove it? No, but they’re together.”
February 12, 2026: The Wall Street Journal publishes a major investigation into conditions inside DHS. Key findings from that report:
- Lewandowski was spending time at Noem’s government-owned waterfront residence on a military base in Washington
- The two were using a luxury 737 MAX jet fitted with a private cabin, a queen bed, showers, a kitchen, four flat-screen TVs, and a bar for their official travel
- They “do little to hide their relationship inside the department,” according to multiple unnamed officials
- Trump had specifically rejected Lewandowski’s request to serve as Noem’s formal chief of staff because of the affair rumors, and “continued to bring it up”
- The White House Counsel’s office had opened an inquiry into Lewandowski’s conduct
NBC News reporter Julia Ainsley, in her forthcoming book Undue Process: The Inside Story of Trump’s Mass Deportation Program, cites a Customs and Border Protection official who worked with the pair regularly: “They don’t hide it.” A member of Trump’s own transition team told Ainsley in January 2025: “Oh yeah, they’re still together.”
Both Noem and Lewandowski denied any romantic involvement throughout.
The March 2026 Hearings: Bryon Was in the Room
On March 4, 2026, Bryon Noem sat behind his wife in the House Judiciary Committee hearing room on Capitol Hill. Kristi acknowledged his presence in her opening remarks, telling the committee he would need to leave in a few hours to catch a flight back to South Dakota.
Earlier in the session, photographs from NBC News showing the interior of the luxury government jet’s private bedroom were displayed before the committee. Multiple reports described Bryon visibly wincing and gritting his teeth during those moments. A Reuters photograph captured him side-eyeing his wife at the podium.
Then came the direct question. Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California looked at Noem and asked:
“Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?”
Noem did not deny it. She responded: “I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee today.”
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida asked her to put a simple “no” on the congressional record. She said: “I think the ridiculousness of this and the tabloids that you are quoting and referencing are insane. This has been something I have refuted for years.”
When Moskowitz pressed a second time, she added: “You say conservative women are stupid or s—. I am neither.”
She never said no.
Bryon had left the room before the affair question was put to her. His family told the New York Post later that the moment she could not produce a denial, on national television, in front of Congress, was the moment something finally became impossible to look away from.
Why Trump Fired Kristi Noem
Trump announced Noem’s removal via Truth Social on March 5, 2026, making her the first Cabinet secretary to leave during his second term. She was walking onto a stage at a Nashville policing conference when the post went live. She had been on the phone with Trump just minutes before entering the room.
An administration official told NBC News the firing resulted from several failures that had built up over her 13-month tenure:
- The $220 million self-promotional advertising campaign, which featured Noem on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore with the tagline: “From President Trump and me: Welcome home”
- Her Senate testimony claiming Trump personally approved the campaign. Trump called Reuters the same day to say: “I never knew anything about it”
- Lewandowski firing a Coast Guard pilot mid-mission because Noem’s blanket was left on a different aircraft
- The deaths of two U.S. citizens during ICE operations in Minneapolis, which Noem defended before any investigation was completed
- Internal feuding with CBP and ICE leadership across the department
Axios reported that Noem and Lewandowski had also arranged for a government 737 to fly First Lady Melania Trump on multiple trips, which an administration official described as an attempt to make themselves untouchable. DHS was simultaneously pursuing the purchase of three aircraft at a combined cost exceeding $270 million.
Trump gave Noem a face-saving title: Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, a Western Hemisphere security initiative. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin was named as her replacement, effective March 31. Mullin found out during a Senate GOP lunch via a phone call and told reporters: “I found out just before you guys did.”
Lewandowski departed DHS alongside Noem. His only comment to the New York Post: “You’re asking me to speculate on things that I have no insight into.”
Bryon Noem’s Family Breaks Their Silence
Bryon Noem has made no public statement. He has not spoken to reporters. He has not posted anything about Kristi on social media since late 2024.
Members of his extended family, however, did speak to the New York Post after the March hearings.
“He said he decided about 20 years ago that it was his calling from God to support her in whatever she decided to do. So he has put up with the humiliation. We will see if he sticks with her now,” one family member told the Post.
A second relative said: “Bryon is a Christian man, and he believes that marriage is forever. He’s very close with his children. I’m sure this is really hard on them.”
A third, who said they hoped the public hearing would force Bryon to see the situation for what it is, told the Post: “What gets me is she couldn’t say no. When she’s getting grilled about it, she couldn’t say no.”
The same family members noted that Kristi has long held a difficult relationship with Bryon’s extended family, reportedly “despising” them, according to the Post.
Where Kristi Noem’s Marriage Stands in March 2026
There is no divorce on record in South Dakota. Bryon Noem has not filed anything. There is no legal separation. By every official measure, Kristi Noem is a married woman.
What the record also shows is this: since Noem became DHS Secretary in January 2025, Bryon stayed in Castlewood, South Dakota, while she operated out of Washington. Their son Booker had moved to Kansas City in late 2024, leaving Bryon alone on the family property. No joint Valentine’s Day posts appeared in 2025 or 2026. No anniversary post came from Bryon in May 2025. No Mother’s Day tribute appeared, ending a years-long tradition.
In February 2026, Noem posted a brief airport video showing Bryon heading home. “I’m just dropping off my husband, who’s headed back to South Dakota,” she said on camera. It was one of his only appearances in her public content in over a year.
As of March 24, 2026, Kristi Noem and Bryon Noem are legally married. The courthouses confirm it. What Bryon’s family has made clear, though, is that the faith holding this marriage together has been tested by years of affair rumors, a congressional hearing where his wife refused to deny those rumors on the record, and a very public firing that stripped away the political structure this entire arrangement had been built around. His relatives are watching to see if there is a limit to what he will absorb. So far, he has not reached it. Whether that changes after March 31, when Kristi Noem officially leaves the position that brought all of this to a head, remains to be seen.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, NBC News, CNN, Axios, New York Post, Wikipedia, IBTimes UK, The Daily Beast, Newsweek, Snopes, South Dakota Standard
