REVEALED: Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin and her husband of 31-years Todd Palin quietly divorced in MARCH after he claimed they found it 'impossible to live together'

  • Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband of more than three decades, Todd Palin, quietly finalized their divorce four months ago
  • The case is sealed from public view, but a docket posted publicly shows that their divorce was granted on March 23 following a non-contested hearing
  • Todd Palin first filed for divorce on September 5, 2019 – his birthday - saying that he found it 'impossible to live together as husband and wife'
  • The 55-year-old was seeking joint custody of their now 12-year-old son, Trig, and an equal division of their assets, his initial complaint stated
  • All other documents in the case were made confidential after it was sealed, however the docket reveals that no child support was issued
  • In her only public interview about their separation, Sarah Palin said she learned her husband was planning on leaving her in an email from his lawyer  

Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband ofmore than three decades, Todd Palin, quietly finalized their divorce four months ago, court records have revealed.

The case is sealed from public view, but a publicly available docket shows that their divorce was granted on March 23 following a non-contested hearing, PEOPLE first reported.

Todd Palin filed for divorce on September 5, 2019 – his birthday - citing ‘incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife.’

The 55-year-old was seeking joint custody of their now 12-year-old son, Trig, and an equal division of their assets, his initial complaint stated.

All other documents in the case were made confidential after it was sealed, however the docket reveals that no child support was issued.

Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband for more than three decades, Todd Palin, quietly finalized their divorce four months ago, court records have revealed

Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband for more than three decades, Todd Palin, quietly finalized their divorce four months ago, court records have revealed

The 55-year-old was seeking joint custody of their now 12-year-old son, Trig (above), and an equal division of their assets, his initial complaint stated

The 55-year-old was seeking joint custody of their now 12-year-old son, Trig (above), and an equal division of their assets, his initial complaint stated

In her only public interview about their separation, Sarah Palin told a Christian broadcaster last fall that she learned her husband was planning on leaving her in an email from his attorney on June 19.

She received the 'devastating' message three months before he officially filed for divorce.

The 2008 Republican vice-presidential said she ‘felt like I had been shot’ when she learned of her husband’s desire to separate, which came a week after their 31st anniversary.

At the time of the November interview, she said the couple were going through counselling and their relationship was ‘not over over’.

Sarah Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006 and her family was thrust into the national spotlight two years later when Republican presidential nominee John McCain added her to his ticket as vice president.

Todd, a commercial fisherman and oil field worker, became an instant media sensation dubbed the 'First Dude'.

McCain and Palin lost the election to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and Palin resigned as governor the following year.

Sarah remained a household name and prominent voice in the Republican Party, particularly in the rise of the Tea Party. She was among the first politicians to endorse Donald Trump's candidacy in 2016.

Her family also welcomed a great deal of pop culture attention, even starring in their own TLC show, 'Sarah Palin's Alaska', from 2010 to 2011.

The former 2008 vice-presidential said she ‘felt like I had been shot’ when she learned of her husband’s ‘devastating’ intentions to separate, which came a week after their 31st anniversary

The former 2008 vice-presidential said she ‘felt like I had been shot’ when she learned of her husband’s ‘devastating’ intentions to separate, which came a week after their 31st anniversary

Her family welcomed a great deal of pop culture attention, even starring in their own TLC show, 'Sarah Palin's Alaska', from 2010 to 2011

Her family welcomed a great deal of pop culture attention, even starring in their own TLC show, 'Sarah Palin's Alaska', from 2010 to 2011

THE PALIN FAMILY: A TIMELINE 

1980s - Sarah and Todd meet as high school basketball stars in Wasilla, Alaska

1988 - The couple elope to Palmerville

1989 - Eldest son Track is born.

1990 - Daughter Bristol is born.

1994 - Daughter Willow is born. 

1996 - Sarah is elected mayor of Wasilla.

2001 - Daughter Piper is born. 

2006 - Sarah wins gubernatorial election in Alaska.

April 2008 -  Son Trig is born with Down Syndrome.

August 2008 - Sarah joins John McCain's presidential ticket. 

Soon after, news emerges that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant with her high school sweetheart, Levi Johnson. 

Bristol and Levi weather two failed engagements before splitting with a bitter custody battle over son Tripp.  

2009 - Sarah steps down as Alaska governor.

2010 - The Palin family stars in one eight-episode season of their own reality show, Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Following the show's debut, daughter Willow made headlines when she went after a critic on Facebook, calling him 'gay' and a 'f*ggot'. 

2011 - Bristol is caught yelling a homophobic slur at a man during a bar fight.  

2014 - Reports emerge about a bloody 20-person brawl at the Palin compound that was shut down by police. Todd and Track were implicated in the melee and Bristol allegedly assaulted a man and accosted a police officer.

2015 - Bristol announces her second pregnancy out of wedlock but does not disclose who the father is. 

January 2015 - Track is put on probation for assaulting then-girlfriend Jordan Loewe. 

2016 - Bristol's ex-fiance, decorated war hero Dakota Meyer, sues her for custody, claiming that the child is his.

March 2016 - Todd is in a serious snowmobile accident and suffers  broken and fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, a broken shoulder blade, a broken clavicle, and leg injuries.

December 2017 - Track is arrested a second time for assaulting Todd. 

September 2018 - Sarah and Todd speak to DailyMailTV about the challenges they've overcome in their marriage. 

October 2018 - Track is arrested in a third domestic violence incident.

November 2018 - The Palin compound is wrecked in a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. 

September 2019 - Todd files for divorce from Sarah. 

March 2020 - Their divorce is finalized 

Advertisement

Her marriage to Todd had been dogged by unsubstantiated divorce rumors for a decade.

In 2009 People reported about 'extramarital affairs on both sides and an impending divorce', but that story was swiftly denounced by the Palin camp.

'No truth to any of the rumors. No divorce. No affairs. No land in Montana. Nothing! All lies and fabrications!' a spokesperson for Palin said at the time.

Sarah appeared to respond to the rumors on her Facebook page, writing: 'Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story.'

In September 2018, Sarah and Todd sat down for an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV at their family compound home in Wasilla, Alaska.

They described how they met in high school after Todd moved to Wasilla and immediately made an impact on the school's basketball team, which Sarah's father, Chuck Heath, coached.

Sarah said she introduced herself to Todd on the basketball court after hearing her father's praise for the new player.

'I wrote TP on my hand because he was like my first boyfriend — the first kid I ever had a crush on,' Sarah told DailyMailTV, 'and then [one] night at the dinner table my dad saw that his initials were on my hands he was like that was kind of a floozy thing to do! I was so embarrassed.'

On their 30 years of marriage Sarah added: 'Well it's not easy there's ups and downs and I think people just need to remember when you're on that downswing there's going to be an upswing, you know to hang in there... but we had hellish times.'

A number of challenges have tested their three-decade relationship, perhaps the biggest being their son Trig's Down Syndrome diagnosis.

Todd was 1,700 miles away working on an oil field in Canada when 12-week pregnant Sarah learned that their fifth child would suffer from the condition.

'That was a tough time, but a blessing too,' Sarah told DailyMailTV.

She said she asked Todd: 'Why us?' and he replied: 'I'm thinking why not us?'

'I was still scared — I was — didn't know what to expect, didn't how wonderful it was going to be,' Sarah said, adding that the challenges of raising a child with special needs should never be underestimated.

'If I hear a parent gripe about their two-year-old — "Uhh he wouldn't let me brush his teeth today!" —I'm just like "Man, appreciate that you have it relatively easy."

'The most challenging thing is trying not to look too far into the future and being scared of what perhaps Trig would face. I'm just so thankful that he's got the big extended family with his big brother and big sisters. He's always gonna be taken care of.'

Meanwhile, their oldest son Track has faced very different difficulties over the past few years.

The now-31-year-old has been in trouble with the law for assaulting both a pregnant girlfriend and his father after abusing pills and alcohol as he struggled to adjust to life following Army tours of duty in Iraq.

Second child Bristol also found herself at the center of scandal after getting pregnant at 17, and then calling off her marriage to Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer days before they were due to walk down the aisle in 2015.

Despite their divorce, Sarah and Todd have continued to spend time together. The pair reunited in November to put on a united front when their daughter Willow gave birth to twin girls

Despite their divorce, Sarah and Todd have continued to spend time together. The pair reunited in November to put on a united front when their daughter Willow gave birth to twin girls

The couple, who first met in high school before eloping in August 1988 and share five children

The couple, who first met in high school before eloping in August 1988 and share five children

Bristol later got pregnant by Meyer and had a daughter before they eventually married. Once wed, they had a second child but they divorced after less than two years.

And it is that sort of drama, Sarah said last in September 2018, that makes the Palins more human.

She remembered the Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota in 2008, when she was number two on her party's ticket.

'Trig was a 16-week-old baby at the time. Bristol in high school, teenage and pregnant. We were just a microcosm of America. We were up there on stage and I just thought 'Oh man…who'da thunk?'

'Anything is possible in America and wow, God blesses us.'

Despite their separation, Sarah and Todd have continued to spend time together. The pair reunited in November to put on a united front when their daughter Willow gave birth to twin girls.

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.