Longtime friends and neighbors of Bryon and Kristi Noem have expressed surprise and heartbroken over the revelation of their husband's double life. Some believe that the images, which reportedly showed Noem wearing inflated balloons as fake breasts, must have been from the same person as Noem. While the pictures were met with laughter or jokes, while others were more compassionate. Some locals believe that Noem's high-profile job with the Trump administration made the situation worse. Noem responded by saying she was "devastated" and her family was "blindsided".