Kristi Noem and former aide Corey Lewandowski are reportedly “closer than ever,” with the pair photographed together in Minnesota as Noem navigates her divorce.
Photos obtained by The Daily Mail show the two spending time in Wayzata, an affluent Minneapolis-area community on Lake Minnetonka, where they dined at an outdoor restaurant Tuesday before heading out for a bike ride along the waterfront.
Noem, 54, and Lewandowski, 52, kept their lakeside outing low-key. The former secretary of Homeland Security wore a flannel shirt with a floppy hat, while Lewandowski chose a fitted black T-shirt and dark sunglasses.
During the stop at The Grocer’s Table cafe, Noem was photographed laughing while looking at something on Lewandowski’s phone as the pair waited for their food.
“Kristi and Corey are closer than ever,” an insider told the Daily Mail after the outing drew attention.
The source said Noem’s decision to retain a lawyer and file for divorce was painful. “Making the decision to hire a lawyer and file for divorce was difficult. Very difficult. She loves Bryon. Always will. She wants the best for him. He’s the father of her children,” the insider said of Noem’s estranged husband, who has been linked to a reported “bimbofication” scandal.
The same source described Lewandowski as a steady presence during turbulent moments in Noem’s public and private life. “But Corey’s been there with her through thick and thin – both professionally and personally. Who was there for her when she was let go by Trump, when the news about Bryon’s fetish went public? It was Corey. Whatever the future holds, they are devoted to one another.”
Noem and Lewandowski have previously denied being romantically involved, including after The Daily Mail published a 2023 report detailing the closeness of their relationship.
Kristi Noem, 54, and her former aide Corey Lewandowski, 52, were seen getting cozy as they ate at The Grocer’s Table in Wayzata, Minnesota on Tuesday
At one point, Noem appeared to laugh at something she saw on Lewandowski’s phone
The two were later seen riding a bicycle along the shores of Lake Minnetonka
But in March, Noem was ousted from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by President Trump.
The former ‘ICE Barbie’ has since been reassigned to lead the Shield of the Americas, a newly created, much smaller agency in the State Department.
As she was still reeling from the ouster, the Daily Mail reported that Noem’s husband, Bryon, 56, had been actively participating online in the bimbofication scene.
He sent online fetish models compromising pictures of himself with balloons stuffed under women’s clothing imitating huge breasts.
As part of the investigation, the Daily Mail reviewed hundreds of messages involving three women from the ‘bimbofication’ scene – where porn performers transform themselves into real-life Barbie dolls by pumping colossal amounts of saline into their breasts.
Bryon has lavished praise on their surgically enhanced bodies, confessed his lust for ‘huge, huge ridiculous boobs’, and even made indiscreet remarks about his marriage to Kristi, our investigation disclosed.
Noem’s and Lewandowski’s outing this week comes amid the former Secretary of Homeland Security’s divorce from her husband, Bryon
Noem and Lewandowski dressed casually for their trip to Wayzata, a wealthy suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Noem donned a flannel shirt and a floppy hat while Lewandowski opted for a tight black T-shirt and dark sunglasses
The two have repeatedly denied they are in a relationship
National Security experts consulted by the Daily Mail at the time said Bryon’s brazen behavior could have left Noem – nicknamed ICE Barbie – vulnerable to blackmail.
In the aftermath, Noem said she was left ‘blindsided’ and ‘devastated’ by the news.
Noem’s mother has since told the Daily Mail that the former DHS Secretary is now seeking a divorce from Bryon, explaining that the scandal proved to be the unbearable final blow to their 34-year marriage.
‘It has been difficult, but we knew this was coming, that they were going to get divorced,’ Corinne Arnold, 77, said during a sit-down interview at her home last month.
She went on to share how she last saw the two of them together at a particularly awkward family birthday in late spring, just weeks after the news broke.
‘This was a big party where the whole family was there, Kristi and Bryon, all my kids, all my grandkids,’ Arnold said.
‘Bryon was holding and hugging the kids,’ she recounted. ‘It seemed like the old Bryon.
‘He was very nice,’ she added. ‘I hugged him, told him I loved him and he said the same.’
She also broached a difficult subject with her daughter at the party.
‘She doesn’t tell me what she thinks,’ the mom said. ‘Finally, I said: “What’s the deal? Are you going to get together again?”
‘And she said: “No. No. We’re going to get a divorce.”‘
Bryon, who packed up and left home after the Daily Mail exclusive broke, is now living 20 miles away, while still running an insurance agency.
In April, the Daily Mail reported that Bryon Noem, 56, had been actively participating in the bimbofication scene and published photos of him in fake breasts and hot pink pants
In March, Noem was ousted from DHS by President Trump over the alleged affair
Noem and Lewandowski were seen reading something on a phone
Kristi Arnold and Bryon Noem met in high school, married in 1992, and raised daughters Kassidy, now 32, and Kennedy, 29, and a son, Booker, 24.
Bryon had been seen supporting his wife over the years, even sitting dutifully by her side at a congressional hearing scrutinizing her aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
But the cameo backfired horribly when California Democrat Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked the outgoing DHS secretary: ‘Have you had sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski?’
Noem didn’t issue an outright denial, instead snapping back: ‘I am shocked that we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee.’
