The 33-year-old daughter of former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, shares Tripp with her ex, Levi Johnston.
The first day of school is looking a little different this year for Bristol Palin and her family.
Bristol took to Instagram this week to share a first day of school photo featuring her daughters Sailor Grace, 8, Atlee Bay, 7 — whom she shares with ex-husband Dakota Meyer — before revealing that her 15-year-old son has moved back to Alaska.
“This has been the hardest ‘first day of school’ yet with one of the biggest pieces of my heart missing,” the 33-year-old, who shares Tripp with her ex Levi Johnston, wrote on Instagram Aug. 14. “Tripp has decided to finish out high school in Alaska to be closer to his dad and our entire family.”
In addition to being closer to his dad, and Bristol’s mom, former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, Bristol said that her son’s passion for hunting and fishing largely influenced his decision.
“As hard as it has been to come to grips with his decision — it’s truly not about what I want,” Bristol said. “He’s almost 16 years old and that relationship with his dad is a lot more important than my own selfish desires of having him with his mama forever! I can’t talk about it yet without crying, but selfishly praying for a quick year and easy transition for us all.”
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Bristol moved to Texas from Alaska after marrying Meyer and stayed in the Lone Star state after their 2018 divorce for the sake of her daughters.
The former couple’s drama played out during a brief stint on Teen Mom OG, with Bristol accusing her ex of being “petty” and moving her stuff out of their bedroom in their Texas home.
The pair have since exited reality TV and found a rhythm as co-parents, with Bristol sharing in 2022, that she and Meyer now get along.
“Getting along as coparents makes life a lot easier,” she caption the post, which saw Bristol alongside Meyer and her three kids. “Put aside the past, differences, etc and focus on what’s best for your babes, not loosing [sic] sight of that — is everything.”
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As for her and Levi, Bristol famously made headlines with her pregnancy with their son, Tripp, as she was just 17 when her mom ran for Vice President alongside John McCain in 2008.
While their relationship didn’t last, Bristol has been open about how being a young mom changed her life.
“10 years ago this week – my life took the biggest possible turn,” Bristol wrote in a 2018 Instagram post. “I was 17 and a junior in high school.. it took hearing your heartbeat for a positive pregnancy test to really mean anything to me.. and took holding you in my arms to realize my life was going to be changed forever.”
She continued, “I am so thankful for God’s plan over our life, and His grace that has covered us entirely..my kids truly are my biggest blessing,” adding a heart emoji and the hashtag #purpose to the sweet post.
