On March 31, 2026, the Daily Mail published a story titled “Secret double life of Kristi Noem’s cross-dressing husband Bryon: The pouting ‘busty bimbo’ photos and trove of explicit messages.”
The husband of Kristi Noem, Bryon Noem, was an insurance salesman in South Dakota. Meanwhile, his wife was previously the Governor of the state before advancing in the Trump Administration to become the head of the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.). However, it was just earlier last month, on March 5, when she was let go from her role.
As head of the department, Noem was becoming an increasingly controversial figure for a multitude of reasons. Controversy arose with the Secretary’s handling of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and specifically her response to the murder of two innocent civilians. However, the tension reached its breaking point when Kristi Noem spent $220 million on a government advertising campaign that she did not properly disclose. Ultimately, during a congressional hearing on the situation, Noem stated that President Trump knew about the campaign, but he later denied this claim.
Byron Noem’s double life was then exposed in the midst of controversy and scrutiny; they already had extra eyes on the family.
The New York Times interviewed South Dakotans to ask them how they felt about the scandal. The general consensus was that Bryon Noem was a quiet man, and more than anything, they felt bad for him. He wasn’t a politician or a public figure like his wife. He was nice to the neighbors and took care of his kids. Bryon Noem did not deserve this.
Yet maybe in some twisted, unfair way, this is karma to Kristi Noem for all the violence she has enacted against the LGBTQ+ community. As governor in 2021, Kristi Noem signed executive orders that limited trans women and girls’ ability to play in school sports teams. Later in 2023, she signed South Dakota House Bill 1080, which banned gender affirming-care for trans youth. These are just a few examples of the extreme harm she enacted as governor.
She now asks for “privacy and prayers” as their family works through this. Why would they deserve privacy when she has only publicly sought to suppress this community?
Ultimately, this story would not have broken or been so massive had it not been for Bryon Noem’s political affiliation. Sure, perhaps Bryon Noem was simply just an insurance salesman with no political history. Yet to stand by your wife as she makes decisions that ruin the lives of so many is just as bad.
Bryon Noem, you can be into whatever you want. No one is judging. But there is a hypocrisy in fantasizing and fetishizing the community you and your family are actively trying to annihilate.
The Zeitgeist aims to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.
