Who Is Corey Lewandowski? Everything to Know About Kristi Noem's Alleged Lover Amid Affair Rumors

Kristi Noem's rumored paramour, Corey Lewandowski, had a modest upbringing before entering the political arena.

According to Politico, Lewandowski came from a low-income household in Lowell, Mass. He attended the Naval War College anf received his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts.

He then earned his master's in political science from American University in Washington, D.C.

Although he maintains a low profile when it comes to his family, multiple news outlets confirmed he has been married to his wife, Alison Lewandowski, since 2005. They have four children together, per a news outlet.

Before starting a family with the DHS senior advisor, Alison was married to Brian Kinney, a 28-year-old manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston who died in the September 11 attacks. Brian was aboard the United Airlines Flight 175 when it hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

Corey was 21 when he ran for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1994. The then-Republican college student lost to Democratic candidate Thomas Golden Jr., but court records later showed he did not secure a place on the Republican primary ballot after failing to secure 150 Republicans to qualify as a write-in candidate.

It later pushed him to sue Michael Connolly, the then-Massachusetts secretary of state, and election officials, seeking to challenge the result. The lawsuit also asked the court to bar Michael from printing general election ballots without his name included.

Judge Mary-Lou Rup rejected his claim, per the records shared by The Guardian.

In the years thereafter, Corey served as the National Director of Voter Registration of Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Prosperity Foundation.

He also held positions with Members of Congress and worked as the Legislative Political Director, Northeast Region, for the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Corey met Donald Trump at the AFP and Citizens United's "Freedom Summit" in New Hampshire in April 2014. The Apprentice star then tapped him to become his campaign manager in January 2015 ahead of the 2016 elections.

"In my very first meeting with Mr. Trump when he offered me the position to be his campaign manager in January of 2015, he asked me what I thought his odds were of winning the Republican nomination. I said 5 percent. And he said 10. And I said, 'Let's settle at seven-and-a-half,'" he recalled in an interview.

After he was fired from the role in 2016, Corey shared how his position differed from every other campaign "where the campaign manager would sit in the office all day."

He said, "My job was to be next to him so I could give him advice and counsel. And we were so small that that's the way it worked... So my fault was not being in the campaign office day-to-day to continue to grow the campaign, because I was with the candidate all day. That was on me."

Days after he left the Trump campaign, Corey joined CNN as a political commentator. He left the post months later, with CNN spokeswoman Barbara Levin announcing the former campaign manager resigned from the network and that his resignation was effective immediately.

Corey continued his career in other networks and channels, including One America News Network.

According to The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, Corey founded Lewandowski Strategic Advisors, LLC. He also serves as president and CEO of the government and public affairs consulting firm.

Corey and Kristi's alleged clandestine relationship began as early as 2019.

At the time, extramarital affair rumors spread like wildfire after they were spotted being overly affectionate at multiple events. The love affair allegedly continued in the years thereafter, prompting the ICE Barbie to clap back in a since-deleted post on X.

"These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie. These old, tired attacks on conservative women are based on a falsehood that we can't achieve anything without a man's help," she wrote. "I love Bryon [Noem]. I'm proud of the God-fearing family we've raised together. Now I'm getting back to work."

Despite attempting to quell the buzz, it reached an all-time high when The Wall Street Journal released a viral exposé on February 12. The piece explored the pair's "worst-kept secret" relationship and the internal chaos roiling the Department of Homeland Security under the secretary and her aide.

Corey has consistently denied the allegations, and the White House has also pushed back on the "fake news" reporting.