MAGA podcaster Megyn Kelly suggested that the staunchly anti-drag Kristi Noem must have known about her husband’s life as a crossdresser.
Speaking on her online show, Kelly discussed a bombshell report from the Daily Mail alleging that Bryon Noem, 56, had a secret life in which he wore ginormous fake breasts and pink hot pants while speaking to “bimbofication” fetish models online.
Noem—dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her love of playing dress-up in uniformed roles—had claimed she was “blindsided” by the allegations surrounding her husband. The alleged crossdressing fetish enjoyed by her husband has an ironic twist, seeing as Noem spearheaded a campaign to ban drag shows in South Dakota during her time as governor of the state.
Noem even went so far as to announce a whistleblower hotline in 2023 so people could complain about South Dakota’s colleges and universities encouraging drag performances or the use of “preferred pronouns.”
Kelly said there is a strong possibility that the former Homeland Security chief, 54, knew about her husband’s kink, which could help explain rumors that she has been having a longtime affair with her top aide, Corey Lewandowski. Both Noem and Lewandowski have denied the claims.
“I don’t know what that is, but I can speak for all women in America when I say we don’t want to see her husband doing it,” Kelly said after showing a photo obtained by the Daily Mail of Bryon Noem wearing huge fake breasts under a tight shirt while pulling a pouting “kissing” face.
“I feel for Kristi Noem. It puts a totally different spin on the affair she’s allegedly been having with Corey Lewandowski. Who could blame her? It feels almost noble at this point,” Kelly said.
“She’s suggesting she didn’t know—so I guess technically it wouldn’t justify the affair—but even if you don’t know, don’t you know? As a wife?”
Kelly went on to describe how a friend of hers had a husband who had been cheating on her for years, but the friend had been “manifesting knowing without knowing” about the affairs before they were confirmed.
“It’s very hard for a spouse to get away with this for years—who knows how many years this has been going on with him?—without the other spouse having something internal tell them something is off,” Kelly said.
In a statement after the photos were published, Noem said she was “devastated” by the revelations surrounding her husband.
“The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at this time,” she added.
National security experts said the photos of Bryon Noem could have posed a wider risk, since they could potentially have been used to blackmail the former top Cabinet official.
“It’s astounding that somebody whose spouse is at that level has that kind of bad judgment,” Jack Barsky, a former Soviet spy turned U.S. counterintelligence asset, told the Daily Mail.
Noem’s alleged affair with Lewandowski has been described as the “worst-kept secret in D.C.”
After the allegations about Bryon Noem emerged, comments from conservative political commentator Ryan James Girdusky suggesting Noem knew her husband was gay also resurfaced.
Girdusky discussed the “fascinating” piece of “D.C. gossip” about a “member of Trump’s Cabinet” on the It’s a Numbers Game podcast in August 2025.
“A reporter walked up to her and said, ‘Why are you having this affair? Why haven’t you met up with your husband? Why aren’t you divorcing your husband?’” Girdusky said. “And she blurted out to this reporter, who I know, and said, ‘Oh, my husband’s gay.’”
Girdusky confirmed on Tuesday that he had indeed been referring to Kristi and Bryon Noem in a post on social media.
“I didn’t name Noem by name out of respect for privacy, but to say she had no idea really flies in the face of what she was saying,” Girdusky wrote on X.
“I have no idea if he is or isn’t, but it was such a known fact in D.C. circles that their marriage [was] all appearances. It could be she said it as justification for her stepping out on her wedding vows. Don’t know.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Kristi Noem for comment.
