Who Is Doug Burgum's Wife Kathryn Helgaas?

Donald Trump has picked North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to serve as secretary of the Interior. The President-elect made the announcement during a gala for the America First Policy Institute held at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thursday. Burgum is married to Kathryn Helgaas, an advocate for addiction recovery. The couple got married in 2016. Burgum was previously married to Karen Stoker, with whom he has three children. They got married in 1991 and filed for divorce in 2003.

Who is Kathryn Helgaas?Kathryn Helgaas grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota. Her family was in the John Deere business for three decades. Kathryn got her undergraduate degree in retail business from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration degree in human resources from the University of North Texas. According to her bio on the official website of office of the Governor, "Her 25-year career in human resources and marketing has spanned industries, including retail, biotechnology, software, manufacturing, agriculture and real estate development. Over her life, Kathryn has donated her time and leadership to many charitable endeavors including at-risk women and children, animal welfare, visionary artists and the arts, along with her primary focus of the last decade: addiction and recovery."In an interview with ABC News last year, Kathryn shared their relationship's journey, including a memorable surprise proposal."We were together a long time before we decided to get married. I'd been married, he’d been married, and we sort of thought, maybe we would try a relationship without marriage, because that didn't work so well for us. But then there was a point in time, actually, at a barn with our horses, where he completely surprised me and proposed, and so it was easy to say yes," she told the outlet. "He’s so thoughtful. I mean, he remembers everybody's birthdays, remembers anniversaries, you know, remembers kids’ names, remembers your high school mascot."Now 22 years sober, Kathryn has often spoken about struggling with alcohol and addiction. She encourages others to do the same in order to normalize the conversation around it. "There was a two-decade struggle. I never reached out for help, or hardly, because of the stigma of addiction. But there was a point in time where I guess I was suicidal at the end of my drinking," she told ABC News. "There was a point in time where I just, I had faith that there is God, but I wasn't part of an organized religion. And I was out walking. I always get emotional when I tell this story, but I just said, "If there's anybody out there, I need help." And I've been sober since I uttered those words. So, you know, that was a miracle for me, because I spent a lot of years relapsing and, you know, and suicidal. So, I'm so grateful to be here today."