Bristol Palin reveals heartbreak as son Tripp, 15, moves back to Alaska to be by his dad
Bristol Palin has shared her heartbreak after her son Tripp Johnston packed up and moved out of her Texas home.
Taking to her Instagram Story on Wednesday, the daughter of former Governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin revealed that her 15-year-old son has relocated to Alaska to “be closer to his dad.”
“This has been the hardest ‘first day of school’ yet with one of the biggest pieces of my heart missing,” said Bristol, 33. “Tripp has decided to finish out high school in Alaska to be closer to his dad and our entire family.”
“If you know Tripp, you know he lives for hunting/fishing and I honestly can’t blame him for wanting to be back home,” she added.
Bristol, who hails from Wasilla, Alaska, shared an image of her two younger daughters as she explained that she’s experiencing bittersweet emotions.
“As hard as it is has been to come to this decision — it’s truly not about what I want,” she added, saying that her son will be spending more time with his father, Levi Johnston.
“He’s almost 16 years old,” she said of Tripp, a celebrity from the Juniors season of “Dancing with the Stars.”
“And that relationship with his dad is a lot more important than my own selfish desires of having him with his mama forever!” she added.
Bristol also shares daughters Sailor Grace, 8, and Atlee Bay, 7, with ex-husband Dakota Meyer, 36.
In 2017, Palin, a real estate agent, moved to Texas with her kids and Meyer before the couple split citing a “conflict of personalities” just a year later, according to Newsweek.
“I can’t talk about it yet without crying, but selfishly praying for a quick year and easy transition for us,” she added of Tripp’s big move.
Palin and Johnston were embroiled in an ugly dispute over custody of Tripp, who was born in Dec. 2008, amid their on-again, off-again relationship.
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The two called off their engagement less than two years after Tripp was born.
In 2016, Johnston revealed that he was granted joint custody with Bristol after he racked up $100K in legal fees.
“I’m so happy to have my son in my life, and to put all of this back in forth in the courts behind me,” Johnston, 25, shared on Facebook at the time.
“It might have taken me 7 years and cost me around $100,000 in lawyer fees, spread out among 3 different lawyers, as well as a lot of patience, but it was all worth it.”
Palin responded with a supportive quote that read, “The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other.”