ICE Barbie and 'Bimbo': Husband of former US DHS secretary wore fake breasts and sent selfies to women

A scandal surrounding former US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is growing by the day.

This time, the focus is not on her track record as DHS head—though there is plenty to discuss there—but on her own husband.

Bryon Noem, who for decades played the role of the model spouse to a devout conservative politician, has been exposed for leading a secret online life that starkly contrasts with the public image the Noem couple so carefully cultivated.

Bimbo with 'balloons'

According to the Daily Mail, the outlet reviewed hundreds of messages Bryon Noem exchanged with three women over the course of more than a year—while his wife led the Department of Homeland Security.

The correspondence took place within the subculture of 'bimbification'—a niche fetish community where participants (Bimbos) engage in the hyper-sexualization of the female image.

In widely circulated photographs, 56-year-old Bryon Noem is depicted wearing women's clothing with balloons stuffed under a flesh-colored top, simulating an exaggerated bust. His face is clearly visible in the images. The family has not disputed the authenticity of the photos.

Through a spokesperson, Kristi Noem stated that she is 'devastated.' 'The family was caught off guard. They ask for their privacy to be respected and for prayers,' the statement read.

When New York Times journalists directly approached Bryon Noem for comment, he responded tersely: 'I’ll talk someday. Today is not that day. I appreciate your concern.'

Donald Trump, in turn, told the Daily Mail that he was unaware of the photographs and was surprised the family confirmed them: 'They confirmed it? Well… I feel for the family.'

In the photo: Bryon Noem appears to have stuffed balloons into his shirt, mimicking comically large, asymmetrical female breasts.

Devoted husband of a conservative politician

This would all be a strictly private matter—if not for one key detail. Throughout her political career, Kristi Noem has built her image on the foundation of 'traditional American values.' She signed laws restricting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, pushed for bans on drag shows on university campuses, and pursued transgender individuals through the courts.

Bryon, meanwhile, consistently stood by her side—at Congressional hearings, campaign rallies, and in official photographs. He was part of the image: a reliable friend, a faithful husband, a Christian from South Dakota.

In the photo: Bryon and Kristi Noem

Now it has come to light that during this very period—while his wife was enacting laws against the 'destruction of the traditional family'—Bryon Noem was privately confessing to barely acquainted women that he wanted 'huge, huge, ridiculous breasts.' Hypocrisy of this magnitude is rarely so neatly packaged.

But that’s not all. One of the women with whom Bryon corresponded reported that when she asked him about long-circulating rumors of an affair between Kristi Noem and her advisor Corey Lewandowski, he replied: 'I know. There’s nothing I can do about it.'

Kristi Noem herself, when questioned under oath during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing about the affair with Lewandowski, did not deny it. Instead, she snapped: 'I’m shocked that we’re stooping to tabloid gossip in this committee.'

Secretary who filmed ads on horseback

The story with her husband unfolds against the backdrop of far more serious questions about Kristi Noem herself—and her tenure in a role from which she was ultimately fired by Trump on March 4.

During her time leading DHS, Noem launched large-scale ICE immigration raids, during which two US citizens, Rene Good and Alex Pretty, were shot dead in Minneapolis in January while observing an operation. Simultaneously, she methodically built her personal brand: filming DHS advertisements on horseback at Mount Rushmore in cowboy spurs, staring into the camera and promising to deport all violators.

These ads became a scandal in their own right. As uncovered by ProPublica and several other outlets, the advertising campaign cost American taxpayers $220 million. Contracts were awarded without standard bidding procedures—DHS cited a 'state of emergency' at the border.

In the photo: a still from the advertisement featuring Kristi Noem

The primary contractor, Safe America Media LLC, was registered in Delaware just seven days before receiving a $143 million contract. A subcontractor was Strategy Group—a company owned by the husband of DHS’s press secretary and a longtime ally of Noem. During Senate hearings, Noem claimed the bidding process followed all rules and that contracts were selected by 'experienced officials.'

Documents reviewed by several outlets suggest otherwise. Additionally, she told senators that the campaign expenses were personally approved by Trump. The president denied this—and the next day announced her resignation.

According to CNN, the production of a single ad at Mount Rushmore cost $20,000 for horse rental and nearly $4,000 for makeup and styling.

Security in question

Beyond the moral dimension, the scandal with Bryon Noem raises a practical issue that national security experts consider critical. Former Soviet intelligence officer Jack Barsky, now a consultant for US intelligence services, told the Daily Mail: 'If a media organization was able to uncover this, it’s highly likely that hostile intelligence services have known about it for a long time.'

Bryon Noem’s behavior—his online activity, revelations to near-strangers, and comments about his wife’s activities—could have made the head of an agency responsible for national security a potential target for blackmail.

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Kristi Noem exited high-level politics in a manner she perhaps deserved: not with triumph, but with a crash. Her career at DHS ended with a dismissal from Trump, parliamentary investigations, and criminal referrals from Democrats in Congress. Her husband, who for decades embodied 'proper' conservative America beside her on podiums and in Congressional halls, turned out to be a regular on fetish forums. And she herself, it seems, has long been living a very different life—one she also preferred to keep under wraps.

Ali Shirvanshir