Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski appear SMITTEN as 'closer than ever' pair are seen dining together after her split from cross-dressing husband

Published: 02:17, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 02:29, 6 August 2026 Kristi Noem and her one-time aide Corey Lewandowski are said to be 'closer than ever' as they were pictured spending quality time in Minnesota amid her divorce. In images obtained by The Daily Mail, the two were seen cozying up to one another as they ate at an outdoor restaurant along the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata on Tuesday before enjoying a bike ride along the waterfront. Both Noem, 54, and Lewandowski, 52, dressed casually for their outing in the wealthy Minneapolis suburb – with the former Secretary of Homeland Security donning a flannel shirt and a floppy hat while Lewandowski opted for a tight black T-shirt and dark sunglasses. At one point during their outing, Noem was seen looking at something on her beau's phone and laughing as they waited for food at The Grocer's Table cafe. ‘Kristi and Corey are closer than ever,' an insider told the Daily Mail after they were busted on the date-like outing. '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 source said of Noem's estranged husband who was caught up in a 'bimbofication' scandal. ‘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 they were in a relationship when the Daily Mail first revealed just how close the two were in a 2023 exposé. 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 over the alleged affair. 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.’