Former US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said she was “devastated” to find out the details about her spouse’s double life
The husband of former US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem allegedly led a double life as a cross dressing fetishist who spent thousands of dollars on online models and shared photos of himself in exaggerated feminine attire, according to a Daily Mail investigation.
Kristi Noem, often dubbed online as the ‘ICE Barbie’ over her glamorous appearance, led the DHS from early 2025 until her removal in early March and was in charge of Washington’s controversial nation-wide crackdown on illegal migration, overseeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that her husband, Bryon Noem, an insurance executive, used the alias ‘Jason Jackson’ to communicate with women involved in the “bimbofication” scene – a subculture centered on exaggeratedly feminine, Barbie doll aesthetics.
Reviewing hundreds of messages and images, the Mail said Bryon Noem sent at least $25,000 via Cash App and PayPal, lavished praise on the models’ surgically enhanced bodies, and shared selfies in which he appeared wearing tight pink shorts, crop tops, and what looked like balloons or prosthetics to mimic large breasts.
In one exchange he also reportedly wrote: “you turn me into a girl.” In another, he also appeared to acknowledge his wife’s rumored affair with longtime Trump operative Corey Lewandowski, telling a model: “I know. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
The revelations have prompted warnings from former intelligence officials who said the behavior could have exposed Kristi Noem, who oversaw sensitive national security operations until her firing last month, to blackmail.
“If a media organization can find this out, you can assume with a high degree of confidence that a hostile intelligence service knows this as well,” former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos told the Mail.
When contacted by the outlet, Bryon Noem did not deny the explicit conversations or the photos, but rejected the suggestion that he had made indiscreet comments about his wife or endangered national security.
A representative for Kristi Noem told the New York Post she was “devastated” and that “the family was blindsided by this.” The couple, married since 1992, have three adult children.
US President Donald Trump, when asked about the reports, said he “feels badly for the family.”
Kristi Noem was removed from her position at the DHS amid mounting controversies, including criticism over her immigration enforcement tactics and two fatal shootings by federal agents. She has since been named special envoy for the “Shield of the Americas” initiative.
