President Donald Trump’s former Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is having a rough week.
Noem, 54, went from being a central figure in the presidential Cabinet to being an administration pariah. Her private life has nearly fallen apart and become just as controversial as her career.
Trump selected the former South Dakota governor to lead the Department of Homeland Security at the start of his second term, then fired her from the position in March.
Six months later, Noem filed for divorce from her husband of 34 years. The split with 56-year-old Bryon Noem followed revelations about his crossdressing lifestyle.
The South Dakota natives met as teenagers and began dating when Kristi was a junior in high school, and Bryon was a freshman in college.
The couple married in May 1992 when a 20-year-old Kristi attended Northern State University. They share three adult children. By Sept. 2026, the relationship was over.
Kristi cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason their marriage ended. However, a new report claims the Noems are preparing for a bitter battle over money.
According to TMZ, Kristi wants the ability to seek spousal support. In his own legal filings, Bryon argued he should be the one receiving monthly payments from his estranged wife.
Readers of the celebrity news outlet offered their thoughts on Kristi and Noem’s pending money conflict. “Oh wow! Popcorn is ready,” said one social media user, anticipating a bitter divorce.
Kristi not only has to deal with the financial fallout of her marriage collapsing, but she also lost her second job in the administration.
Trump, 80, initially moved Kristi from being the Homeland Security boss to being the U. S. Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.
She confirmed the news herself after CBS reported that the State Department officially announced her role in the Trump-established international coalition of Caribbean and Latin American countries.
“Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas role is always a six-month appointment. Secretary Noem remains at the State Department as a Senior advisor,” read a message shared on Noem’s Twitter.
“Kristi Noem’s envoy status expired last month, and she is no longer in the role,” a State Department rep told CBS News on Sept. 15. “She is now a senior advisor to Deputy Secretary Landau and continues to work on the Shield of the Americas portfolio.”
“It was a “save face” appointment to a fake job after you got fired. You’re pathetic,” blasted one social media user. Another asked, “You got fired again?”
Critics piled on, joking that Noem got the position as a DEI hire. Others condemned her for continuing to live off taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
“So you’re still a leech on the taxpayer dime. Got it,” noted one observer. Another said, “Of course they can’t fire her outright. She knows where all the dogs are buried.”
Instead of letting go, she praised her old boss during an interview on “The Benny Show.” Noem praised the president for his “sacrifices” and ability to serve under tough circumstances for weeks.
But her beleaguered tenure in the executive branch left the former Republican House representative with plenty of political battle scars.
Immigration officers fatally shooting two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis sparked far-reaching outrage at the top of the year.
The then-Homeland Security secretary became a main target of the backlash because she oversaw Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
On the home front, Kristi also had to deal with rumors of infidelity. Whispers of her having a long-time romantic entanglement with GOP operative Corey Lewandowski consumed Washington, DC.
The so-called “open secret” became a full-blown scandal when Lewandowski, 53, began working as Kristi’s unpaid “chief of staff” at Homeland Security.
Multiple congressional hearings in early March 2026 opened the floodgates to inquiries about Lewandowski’s role at DHS. Kristi dismissed questions about the alleged affair as “tabloid garbage.”
Those headline-grabbing grillings in Congress apparently caused Trump to sour on Noem. The president ousted her from his Cabinet the next day. Lewandowski was also booted from DHS within weeks.
