Violent assault, reality TV blowouts, and PTSD have kept the Palin family
in the spotlight for decades. Here's the lowdown on Sarah Palin's five children.
Born in 2008, Trig Palin is the youngest of Sarah Palin's children, and he was the subject of heated
debates before he was even born. Sarah Palin had been hiding her pregnancy until she announced
that she was seven months pregnant with her fifth child. Controversy and rumors surfaced
almost immediately, partly due to the fact that Sarah Palin was 44 years old at the time of the
announcement. False claims spread that Bristol, Sarah Palin's daughter, was in fact Trig's mother,
and that Sarah must have been trying to protect her from public ridicule.
The rumors were vehemently denied, but Sarah Palin faced even more scrutiny when
it was revealed that Trig had been born with Down syndrome. In 2012,
Sarah Palin wrote an article for Newsweek all about raising her son. She said:
"My family knows that Trig will face struggles that few of us will ever have to endure,
including people who can be so cruel to those not deemed "perfect" by society. The cruelty is more
than made up for, though, when someone simply smiles at our son. Nothing makes me prouder."
In September 2019, Todd Palin filed for divorce from Sarah Palin, and the divorce was finalized
in 2020. Unfortunately, with Trig Palin being the youngest child and his other
siblings living away from home, he was the most impacted. Most of the files were sealed,
however it became known that Todd Palin sought joint custody of Trig when he initially filed.
Neither Todd nor Sarah have confirmed the reason for their divorce, but regardless of the reasons,
they now share joint custody of Trig and don't have any child
support orders in place. Sarah Palin spoke to the New York Post in 2022,
saying Trig is the only connection she now shares with her ex-husband.
However, it seems Trig is doing well despite the familial shift. He features regularly on
his sisters' and mom's social media and often posts pictures of the adventures
he has with his family and seems to be living a happy, semi-private life.
The world had its first introduction to Piper Palin in 2008, when she was only seven. Three
years after that, she set off on a bus tour titled "One Nation" with her mom and visited several of
America's historical sites. The public wondered if she was campaigning for the 2012 election.
"When are you going to announce that you're going to run for president?"
"When I decide if I'm ever going to run for president."
Piper accompanied her mom on the road where she became recognized for her facial expressions,
sporting an angsty glare when the press were around. She was also
very protective of Sarah Palin during the tour,
often trying to keep her mom from the cameras and pulling her away from reporters.
Granted, these are all pretty mild antics, especially for a ten-year-old girl who was
suddenly thrust onto the public's radar. Given Sarah Palin's reputation at the time,
it would have been difficult to have a normal childhood,
yet Piper has managed to avoid much controversy herself.
The second-youngest of Sarah Palin's children and her youngest daughter,
Piper has remained predominantly out of the limelight, only making occasional appearances
on her sister's and mother's reality shows and on their social media accounts.
In 2018, Piper got her certificate in assistant
nursing, an achievement which Sarah Palin proudly announced on Instagram, writing,
"So proud of America's future nurses! [...] It takes such a
special heart and soul to choose the nursing field."
Piper has also been incredibly supportive of her sisters, especially when it's come
to being an aunt to their children. When her sister, Willow, had twins in 2019,
she took to social media to sing Piper's praises, saying that Piper never left the
newborns' sides. The Palin sisters may have had a somewhat rocky public image over the years,
but they haven't let this or their busy lives get in the way of being there for one another and have
been present at each others' bachelorette parties, high school graduations, and family vacations.
"The Palin family in their natural habitat!"
Willow is the middle child of the Palin family and currently works as a cosmetologist and
hairdresser. Like her sister Piper, she's kept a fairly low profile apart from her pregnancy
announcements and her handful of appearances on her sister Bristol's reality show. Willow
graduated from Penrose Academy in 2013, with Sarah Palin posting a congratulatory
post on Facebook. She wrote proudly of her daughter's accomplishments, saying:
"[Willow] decided to finish her high school requirements quite
early and enroll in an academy for hair and skin, which allowed her to study abroad,
visit the sets of major media productions, and work with the best of the best in the industry."
Willow and Ricky Bailey got engaged in December 2017 and have been married since
2018. The wedding took place in Alaska and was, by all accounts, a festive,
enjoyable occasion. Sarah Palin shared some photos on social media of the family getting ready,
showcasing Trig in a tux, and having a blast at the beautiful reception.
In 2019, Willow and her husband, Ricky, welcomed twin girls named Banks and Blaise Bailey. In
the weeks leading up to the girls' birth, Willow had been posting images and videos
of her pregnant belly, sharing her excitement at becoming a mother and commending herself
for carrying them so far. After her twin girls were born, several members of the
family posted to social media to welcome the new additions to the family and show their support.
Then in March of 2022, Willow and Ricky announced that they had welcomed their third child,
a baby boy named Pace Bailey. Again, social media flooded with enthusiasm and joy for the couple,
with Sarah Palin happily sharing photos on Instagram. Willow often shares photos of
wholesome family moments and outings, capturing how quickly her children are already growing up.
Bristol Palin is Sarah Palin's eldest daughter and quickly became a household name when the
world met her during her mother's and McCain's 2008 campaign at 17. Bristol made headlines when
she was introduced and saw her first taste of controversy when it was revealed that she
was pregnant. This sparked backlash at Sarah Palin's abstinence before marriage policies,
and John McCain's campaign team subsequently released a statement
claiming that her 17-year-old daughter would keep the child and marry the father.
After having her son,
Tripp, Bristol became an advocate for abstinence for the Candie's Foundation.
"I just think that abstinence is the only way that you can effectively,
100 percent, foolproof way to prevent pregnancy."
Her engagement to Tripp's father, Levi Johnston, was broken off before the wedding and the couple
called it quits in 2010. In 2015, she was engaged to a new man, Dakota Meyer,
but they ended their engagement and Bristol announced a second pregnancy. The couple
later got married in 2016, had their second child together, and finally divorced in 2018.
Bristol's career has taken many forms,
from her advocacy work to featuring in a couple of reality shows, and most recently,
working as a real estate agent. In addition to her professional efforts, she's also put
her focus into being a caring mother to her three children, Tripp, Sailor, and Atlee.
It's clear Bristol Palin has seen her fair share of controversies over the years,
having remained in the spotlight consistently since 2008. In late 2010,
after giving birth to her son Tripp, Bristol competed on "Dancing With the
Stars" and finished in third place, despite consistently seeing low scores from the
judges. This led viewers to question the legitimacy of the show's voting system.
2012 kicked off with Bristol writing an open letter to President Obama,
describing her disappointment that he hadn't called to console her after Bill Maher made
some misogynistic comments towards her. Only a couple of months later,
she made controversial remarks about Obama's decision to support gay marriage.
Then, Bristol's own reality show aired on Lifetime, titled "Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp."
However, this experience was short-lived as it was pulled from the air after only 14 episodes.
"I'm just extremely disappointed, I'm actually like pissed off that you're
just like, you're 17 years old and you own the world."
"And you're an immature 20-year-old mom."
In the same year, she was invited to reappear on "Dancing With the Stars" for the all-stars season.
She took a break from television until 2018 when she replaced Farrah Abraham on "Teen Mom
OG," which sparked a feud between the two. Bristol quit the show after only one season,
saying she was unhappy with the way she and then-husband, Dakota Meyer, were portrayed.
Track Palin is the oldest of Sarah Palin's children. He enlisted in the
army before his mother's vice presidential campaign and was deployed to Iraq in 2008,
where he served as an air guard.
Track was the first of Sarah Palin's kids to get married when he wed his high school sweetheart,
Britta Hanson, in 2011 and had a daughter, Kyla, three months later. The couple split up
after less than two years of marriage, with Britta reportedly taking custody of Kyla.
Track Palin later had a second child, Charlie,
in 2016 with his then-girlfriend, but the relationship ended when she filed
domestic abuse charges against Track and took full custody of their son.
A year later, Track was arrested again for assaulting Todd Palin, his father.
"This family altercation allegedly caused Todd Palin to pull out a
gun and aim it at his son Track, but then Track allegedly beat his father."
Sarah Palin called the police to report the incident, and eventually, Track was released
on bail. In 2018, Track was arrested for a third time after reportedly assaulting
a female friend, for which he served one year, according to the Washington Post.
Most recently, in August of 2022, Track was arrested for a DUI. It's uncertain what exactly
sent Track Palin down this unfortunate path, but his mother has an idea. While endorsing
Donald Trump, Sarah Palin addressed her son's 2016 arrest and suggested that he may suffer from PTSD.
"I can certainly relate with other families who kind of feel these ramifications of PTSD."