It turns out that Sarah Palin and her husband of over 30 years, Todd, have been secretly divorced for most of 2020. Recently released court documents confirmed that the two officially split on March 23, 2020.
Most of the case has been sealed from public view, so there are few details out there about what did (or didn't) happen between the pair. When Todd filed for divorce on September 5, 2019, he cited "incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife." This more or less amounts to the oft-seen "irreconcilable differences" reason given for many divorces.
Todd also asked for joint custody of the pair's youngest son, Trig, who is 12 years old. Todd has also requested their assets be divided fairly. Court documents have revealed that child support has not been issued to either party.
Sarah has largely been quiet about the split, but she has given one public interview. She said that Todd filed for divorce a week after their anniversary, adding, "It's not easy to talk about."
In the interview, Sarah went on to say that her children are angry that their dad filed for divorce: "My kids are cool because they don't like it and that that helps me, you know. It helps me. They're not ones to say, 'Oh, it takes two to tango.' No, they're mad, because they have been brought up with that teaching that you have made a covenant with God."
Sarah also revealed that Todd didn't tell her he was filing for divorce and that she found out from his lawyer: "I found out from an email from an attorney saying that she was hired and that was on June 19th, I'll never forget it. Then on Todd's birthday, a week after our 31st anniversary is when he filed, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's not easy to talk about."
She also added that the divorce has been very difficult and painful for her to experience: "Yeah, I can't think … I'm sure so many of you either maybe you've been through it or you have people whom you love, you've witnessed how horrible it is. But I just think, wow, maybe except for the death of a child, I don't know what could be more … Yeah, it hurts. Yeah."
Actor Dean Cain, who is a friend of the couple, has also commented on their split: "They were so warm and gracious and completely normal. They seemed wonderful together. I'd hate to speculate on the cause — what happens behind closed doors, and how people grow and change over time, is something no one can ever predict or understand, save those two people."
He also added, "I know that they're both extremely devoted and wonderful parents, and I'm certain that they'll both remain dedicated to Trig and their other children."
Another friend, John Coale, commented that up until recently, the pair were happy: "[B]efore a couple years ago, they were happy. It was up to three years ago I knew they were happy."
"From the time I met them, they were a couple in love, a good marriage. Todd supported Sarah 100 percent, especially the last couple years. It's been a long road to this. The family just had to take so much and couldn't handle it, I don't know if anybody could. It's a tragedy. Sarah Palin is a great person, and now it seems the family is in tatters."
It's not totally clear what their friend is referencing, but the Palin family has weathered a series of events over the last few years. The pair's daughter, Bristol, appeared on MTV's Teen Mom series, and their son Track was arrested over domestic violence allegations in 2018.
Track was charged with domestic violence, interfering with report of domestic violence, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct in 2018. This was his second arrest for domestic violence — in 2016, he was charged with domestic violence assault involving a female, interfering with a report of domestic violence, and possession of a weapon while intoxicated.
Track was also charged with first-degree burglary, fourth-degree assault, and criminal mischief in 2017, after he broke into his parents' home and asked his father to shoot him. Sarah said that her son's behavior was due to post-traumatic stress that she attributes to his experiences in the military in 2008.
She wrote, "What my own son is going through, what he is going through coming back, I can relate to other families who feel ramifications of PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with."
