A divorce via email. A battle with Santa Claus. A fling with a former pro athlete. These are just
some of the things you may not know about Sarah Palin. Keep watching to find out more!
Politics isn't the only game that Palin has been interested in.
Back in 2010, she starred in her very own reality series titled "Sarah Palin's Alaska." The series,
which aired on TLC for one season, was set to offer up an inside look at the life of
one of the most divisive political figures in recent American history.
While speaking to ABC News, Palin made it clear that she didn't appreciate the term
"reality television" being applied to her own show,
despite the fact that it televised the reality of her life.
"This may flippin' take me all day."
Palin argued,
"This is not Housewives of Alaska. This is about the uniqueness of Alaska, the special place it is,
and showing the rest of America why we are here and what we have to offer."
Unfortunately for Palin's television ambitions, though,
she was up against a lot of negative public perception when the show debuted.
Political reporter Stuart Rothenberg was blunt when he told ABC News,
"She doesn't do many things to demonstrate depth, seriousness and substance.
She's not going that route with this TV show."
In 2007, Palin announced that she and then-husband Todd were expecting their fifth child together.
She was 43 years old at the time, and she later recounted to ABC News that when realized
she was expecting another baby, she initially experienced a brief wave of hesitation. She said,
"For a fleeting thought, I knew what women go through when they're facing what they believe
at the time are less than ideal circumstances."
Palin didn't debate whether or not she would give birth to the baby,
but she did worry that her age might make parenting more complicated. She explained,
"What I did think for that split second was, Gee, now,
of all times? And yeah, I'm no spring chicken."
"There is destiny for every child and it can be good in our world, and that's what I held on to."
Palin also revealed that she and Todd didn't tell their older children about
the pregnancy immediately. Their son was born several weeks early,
and Palin had still not fully given the news to the rest of the family.
"In fact I went seven months without telling anyone I was pregnant and in
Alaska you can do that because you just put on more layers."
Ultimately, though, everyone celebrated the arrival of baby Trig.
In December 2018, comedian and performer Sacha Baron Cohen managed to fool a whole
host of celebrities and politicians as he filmed "Who Is America?" for Showtime.
Cohen interviewed people as a character named Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D.
The interview between Palin and Cohen didn't make it into "Who Is America?,"
but the former governor was thanked in the credits as "Special Publicity Consultant
(Inadvertent)." Cohen later told Deadline why he didn't include the footage, saying,
"I looked at the footage and it just wasn't funny enough.
For the pieces to be good, there has to be a good comic dynamic.
She was just delivering these kind of rote answers, as if she was doing a campaign speech."
Ultimately, Cohen did end up extending an invitation to Palin to attend the Golden
Globes as his date when he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a
TV series Musical or Comedy for "Who Is America?"...but it appears she declined.
Palin and her ex-husband Todd announced their intention to divorce in the fall of 2019.
While Sarah didn't immediately speak openly about the sudden change, she later revealed that she and
Todd had been pursuing counseling. She found out — via email — that he wanted a divorce.
While speaking with James Dobson, founder of the Family Talk Christian ministry,
she explained exactly what happened.
It turns out that Sarah got an email from Todd's lawyer about three months
before her ex-husband officially filed for divorce in September 2019.
Todd's official reasons for divorce were "incompatibility of temperament," adding,
"They find it impossible to live together as husband and wife."
The pair had been married for 31 years at the time of the filing,
and Todd filed the paperwork just six days after their anniversary.
Palin might have been surprised when she found out her then-husband wanted to get divorced,
but she eventually moved on and started dating again. Still, in an April 2022 interview with
the New York Post, Palin was open about how she felt about her divorce, explaining,
"It was the most earth-shattering, bizarre thing I could have ever imagined
and it kind of remains so."
Palin went on to admit that she wasn't very interested in dating following her divorce
until she connected with former New York Ranger Ron Duguay,
with whom she says she has an authentic connection that surprised her. She said,
"Ron is the first person that I've ever even talked to about a lot of this personal stuff.
So it's been helpful and refreshing to have Ron to
talk to about not just politics [...] but just about life."
Palin obviously knows a thing or two about politics.
"Did you feel like a loser?"
"Um well sure, I mean you either win or you lose."
In April 2022, she announced her plans to run for the Alaska state House of Representatives.
Palin shared a statement on Twitter, explaining in part,
"I'm in this race to win it and join the fight for
freedom alongside other patriots willing to sacrifice all to save our country."
Those are big words, and The Guardian was quick to point out
that Palin might be up against more than she anticipated after making this decision.
The outlet noted that a gentleman who legitimately goes by the name Santa Claus is also running for
the same seat. As a supporter of Bernie Sanders, Claus is running on an entirely different platform
than Palin. However, he's been open to trying to get along with his opponent, explaining,
"As a candidate, as a legislator, I tend to look for common ground. There are people I
disagree with and people who disagree with me. But there's always common ground."
That might not be all Palin has to worry about. While speaking to Republican voters in Alaska,
one person told NPR that Palin's vice presidential
run will probably work against her during the House election, saying,
"She's moved into a different circle. She was a vice presidential candidate.
Yeah, I don't think that the people here — we don't take her very seriously."
"I've got nothin' to lose!"
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more List videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.