“You couldn’t miss hearing about Sarah Palin if you watched the news during John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. She was the Governor of Alaska and became McCain’s running mate. Even though they lost to Barack Obama, Palin was called a ‘force of nature’ in Republican politics.”
Wikipedia Commons / Gage Skidmore
“Even though Sarah Palin, who is 58, is still active in the Republican party, recent news has focused more on her personal life.”
“In 2020, after being married for 30 years, Sarah Palin said she and her husband were getting a divorce. The details were surprising, but now she has shared more information about their breakup.”
Sarah Palin and Todd
“Sarah Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, in 1964. When she was a few months old, her family moved to Alaska. She grew up in the small town of Wasilla, which is about 40 miles from Anchorage.
In high school, Palin was a basketball star and a natural leader, becoming well-known at Wasilla High School.”
“Sarah Palin once said, ‘I know this sounds silly, but basketball changed my life. It taught me about setting goals, discipline, teamwork, and success.’
Sarah met her future husband, Todd Palin, in high school at a basketball game. In August 1988, they eloped to the local courthouse.
However, they found out they needed witnesses. They convinced two people from a home across the street, and then they could finally get married.”
“Sarah Palin said they eloped because they were poor and didn’t want their parents to pay for a wedding. She told this to the Anchorage Daily News in 2008.
Sarah and Todd have five children: Track (1989), Bristol (1990), Willow (1994), Piper (2001), and Trig (2008), who has Down syndrome.
Sarah’s love for sports shows in her children’s names. Her daughter Willow is named after sports journalist Willow Bay, and Bristol is named after the town where ESPN is based.”
“Sarah Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982. Before getting into politics in 1992, she worked as a journalist and helped run Todd’s family’s fishing business.
With her friendly and down-to-earth personality, she won over many people and got a lot of votes. In 2006, she became the first woman and youngest governor of Alaska.
Her husband, Todd, supported her a lot and liked to call himself the ‘First Dude’ while she was governor. But Todd didn’t like to brag about his wife and her job.
One of Todd’s close friends, Scott Davis, told the New York Times that Todd was almost embarrassed or shy about it. He said, ‘It never changed him at all. It took him a little while to get used to the attention.’”
“Todd, who is part Yup’ik Eskimo, has always been busy. He worked in oil production and was a member of Alaska’s Independence Party from 1995 to 2002. He also won the world’s longest snowmobile race, ‘Iron Dog,’ four times.
The Palin family lived in a large house near Lake Lucille in Wasilla. People saw Sarah and Todd’s marriage as a great example. When John McCain chose Sarah as his running mate in 2008, Todd was very supportive and took on more responsibility for their children.
Sarah, the little-known governor of Alaska, called herself ‘just your average hockey mom.’ Like all mothers, she had concerns about her kids.
Three days into the Republican presidential campaign, Sarah announced that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant.”
It shook the Palin family, a very Christian household, to the core.
“Trig was a 16-week-old baby then. Bristol was in high school, a teenager and pregnant. We were just like many families in America. We were on stage, and I thought, ‘Oh man… who would’ve thought?’”
— Sarah Palin to DailyMail in 2018
“According to Levi Johnston, the father of Bristol’s baby, Sarah wanted to keep Bristol’s pregnancy a secret. She even thought about adopting the baby herself.
Sarah told Levi that they should keep it hidden so no one would know Bristol was pregnant, he said in a 2009 Vanity Fair interview.
After the news came out, Sarah and Todd said they were ‘proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.’
Now, Bristol is 31, has three kids, and runs a real estate business in Texas. She has done well for herself.”
Divorce via an email
“Many people saw Sarah Palin and Todd as a happy couple who shared strong Christian values. Even though they faced media attention and family problems, their 30 years of marriage seemed to show their strength and love.
But just a few days after their 31st wedding anniversary in 2019, Sarah said she got a divorce notice from Todd by email.
After all those years together, learning about the divorce through email left Sarah, who is a mother of five and grandmother of seven, heartbroken.”
“Sarah said she felt like she had been ‘shot’ when she found out about the divorce.
She got an email from a lawyer on June 19, and she remembers it clearly. Talking about it is still very hard for her.
For Sarah, who saw her marriage as one of the most important parts of her life, this news was devastating.
She compared the pain to losing a child, saying it was incredibly painful and hard to bear.”
“In September 2019, Todd filed for divorce, saying that they couldn’t get along and it was impossible to stay married.
Even so, Sarah didn’t want to give up on her marriage. She wanted to work things out and tried everything to fix their relationship.
In November 2019, Sarah told James Dobson that they were going through counseling and that the marriage wasn’t completely over yet.”
“Attorneys are getting rich off of us and I don’t like that whole system. It makes no sense to me.”
“Sarah had support from her children during this tough time.
She said, ‘My kids are supportive because they don’t like what’s happening, and that helps me. They’re upset because they believe that marriage is a serious promise made to God.’
Sarah also mentioned that her parents had been married for 58 years and believed in sticking together through everything, just as she was taught.
Even though there had been rumors and scandals about their marriage before, this time the divorce was real. It was finalized on March 23, 2020.”
Sarah Palin boyfriend
“Since the divorce, Sarah has kept a low profile and didn’t talk much about it. But in April 2022, she finally opened up about her new relationship and how she felt about the divorce.”
“In an interview with the New York Post, Sarah said that the shock and pain from the divorce are still very real for her.
She called it ‘the most earth-shattering, bizarre thing’ she could have imagined, and it still feels that way.
Now, Sarah and Todd have very little contact. They only talk occasionally because they share custody of their youngest son, Trig.”
“Sarah said her ex-husband now has a new partner who lives in New York City.
She mentioned, ‘He spends his time with his girlfriend, who he’s been with for a while now.’
Sarah added, ‘She lives in the lower 48 states, so he spends a lot of time there.’
Sarah has also found love again. She’s dating former New York Rangers star Ron Duguay. They were seen having dinner outdoors in January 2022 and confirmed their relationship a month later.”
“Ron Duguay was a longtime friend of Sarah Palin’s, and they fell in love when Sarah asked him to show her around New York City. Sarah calls their relationship ‘safe and comfortable.’
She said in an interview that Ron is the first person she’s talked to about her personal issues. She finds it helpful and refreshing to have someone to talk to about both personal matters and life in general.
Now, Sarah is running for a congressional seat in Alaska, and Ron supports her strongly. He has helped her with her campaign and worked alongside her in Alaska.”