Governor Kristi Noem Has Been Married to Her Husband for More Than 30 Years

Donald Trump has announced that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem will be his appointee for Secretary of Homeland Security. Following the news of that appointment, many wanted to learn more about Noem, including whether she's married.

Noem came to national prominence after she was elected governor in 2019, and she only became more well-known after it was discovered that she killed one of the dogs she adopted. Here's what we know about whether Kristi is married.

Noem has been married to her husband Byron Noem since 1992. Byron is a South Dakota native and graduated from Northern State University with a degree in business and finance. Byron and Kristi were high school sweethearts, and the two of them have pursued a number of business ventures over the course of their marriage, including a farm and ranch, an ice cream shop, and a family restaurant.

During his tenure as South Dakota's first gentleman, Byron has focused on small-town South Dakota.

"I am proud to be from rural South Dakota. It's where I learned the values of hard work and self-reliance, where Kristi and I chose to raise our kids, where we started an insurance business and hunting lodge, and where my family has farmed and ranched for a century. But many small towns like ours are struggling today," he explained, discussing his decision to emphasize the communities.

"Seeing our larger communities flourish is exciting, but I want to make sure we don’t lose South Dakota’s rural culture either. I want to remind people that these are some of the best places to raise a family or start a business. I want to show that our way of life here is worth celebrating and promoting. I want to listen to peoples’ stories and learn from their experiences, then share them with others," he added.

Kristi and Byron are parents to three children: Kassidy, Kennedy, and Booke, and Byron also still works as an insurance agent.

Byron and Kristi's children are just one small part of their life, which seems like it's bound for Washington, D.C. now that she's been tapped to be Trump's Homeland Security secretary.

Kristi has clearly had national political ambitions for some time, and her role in Trump's cabinet could be a great stepping stone. In fact, Kristi was initially in contention to be one of Trump's potential VP picks. Her name fell out of contention, though, after it came out that she described killing one of her dogs in a memoir that she was releasing.

The anecdote was apparently meant to suggest that she had a sort of rural toughness, but it struck many as a cruel gesture that unnecessarily ended the life of a dog. Of course, killing a dog might not win you an election, but now that Trump has won, he's free to recruit all the confessed dog killers he wants into his cabinet, and there's no real recourse left.