Bryon Noem, the cross-dressing husband of transphobic former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, reportedly told an online dominatrix named Shy Sotomayor that he wanted to leave her and become a transgender woman, according to The Daily Mail. The allegations are notable considering Kristi Noem’s transphobic policy stances.

He reportedly told Sotomayor that he wanted to go by the name “Crystal” (his online chat screenname was “Chrystalballz666”), the aforementioned British tabloid reported. He also reportedly told Sotomayor that he could “see us leaving our spouses for each other” and said he wanted to be dominated by a large-breasted woman resembling the “bimbos” that he cross-dressed as.

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“I need to be your trans bimbo slut,” he allegedly wrote Sotomayor, before asking her, “Do you want me to be a woman?” When Sotomayor reportedly answered, “Do you want to be a woman for me?” the 56-year-old man reportedly responded, “I think I do.”

His responses are notable considering that his wife has previously supported bans on drag performances and laws against transgender people while previously serving as the governor of South Dakota.

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While overseeing the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem also followed the president’s policy of placing trans female detainees in male detainment facilities, something which may violate federal legal protections against gender discrimination as well as Constitutional protections against due process and cruel and unusual punishment.

Earlier this month, the U.K.-based tabloid The Daily Mail published a photo showing Bryon Noem wearing pink hot pants, a skin-tight bodysuit, and enormous balloons mimicking large breasts. The photo reportedly came from his chats with online female fetish models as part of his “bimbofication fetish,” an erotic fascination with women who have augmented their bodies to achieve a “Barbie doll”-like appearance.

Bryon Noem reportedly paid at least $25,000 to the models (paying $25 per minute for the online conversations). One of the webcam models, who goes by Lydia Love on the website CamSoda, told the Times of London that Bryon Noem enjoyed playing a submissive role in his online sessions, spoke in a “feminine voice,” and had a “kink” for yoga pants.

Axios White House reporter Marc Caputo said that the exposé may have originated from an immigrant sex worker who wanted to expose Bryon Noem’s fetish in retaliation for his wife’s enforcement of the president’s immigration crackdown, The New York Post reported. However, Caputo was unable to verify the claim.

One of the models told The Daily Mail that Bryon Noem knew of his wife’s alleged ongoing affair with her adviser, Corey Lewandowski. When asked about it, Bryon Noem reportedly responded, “I know. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

When asked about the alleged affair in a recent congressional hearing, Kristi Noem replied, “I am shocked we’re going down and peddling tabloid garbage in this committee,” but she didn’t deny it.

The aforementioned tabloid asked Bryon Noem whether his fetish and his comments about his wife could “[endanger] national security by exposing her to the threat of blackmail,” and reportedly responded, “Yeah, I made no comments like that, that would lead to that. I deny the second part of that.”

A spokesperson for Kristi Noem told The New York Post that the Noem family was “blindsided” by The Daily Mail‘s report, and added, “They ask for privacy and prayers at the time.” Bryon Noem has said he will publicly speak about the allegations “at some point.” 

Numerous online commenters have cited Bryon Noem’s cross-dressing fetish as proof of his wife’s hypocrisy, as she has previously supported bans on drag performances and laws against transgender people.

Kristi Noem has a long public record of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policies during her time as South Dakota governor. She signed laws banning gender-affirming care for minors, celebrated the passage of a bill barring trans women and girls from sports, and signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which sanctions discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. She also opposes marriage equality. 

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