bristol palin

Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin[3] (born October 18, 1990) is the second child and eldest daughter of the 11th Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd. After becoming a teenage single parent, Bristol began to publicly advocate abstinence for unmarried teens and is now a paid speaker
Bristol Palin was born and raised in Wasilla, Alaska.[3][5] Sarah has explained that she named her after the Bristol Inn where she had formerly been employed, Bristol, Connecticut, the headquarters city of ESPN where she had anticipated to work for as a sportscaster, and the Alaskan town of Bristol Bay, where her husband Todd grew up.[6][7]

She began dating Levi Johnston in 2005, during her freshman year at Juneau-Douglas High School.[8][9] She lived in Anchorage with her aunt and uncle in 2008 and attended West Anchorage High School before graduating from Wasilla High School on May 14, 2009.[10][11]

When Sarah Palin was chosen as John McCain's vice presidential running mate in late August 2008, his advisers already knew of Bristol's pregnancy, which they believed would be a political liability.[1] On September 1, the opening day of the 2008 Republican National Convention, it was publicly announced that Palin was pregnant and engaged to Johnston, the father of her unborn child.[8] Palin's entire family, along with Johnston, appeared at the convention.[8][12] In late September 2008, McCain's advisers thought a wedding between Johnston and Palin would boost the waning popularity of the McCain-Palin ticket.[1] Johnston denied claims that he was being pressured into a shotgun wedding, stating, "We were planning on getting married a long time ago with or without the kid. That was the plan from the start."[8] The couple's son, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, was born on December 27, 2008.[13][14] They broke off their first engagement in March 2009.[15] Bristol denied claims that her mother's pro life views influenced her decision to give birth to and raise Tripp, stating, "It doesn't matter what my mom's views are on it. It was my decision."[16][17]

In November 2009, a custody and child support case involving Johnston and Palin was filed in a local, Alaska court. Palin asked the court to use pseudonyms for herself and Johnston to keep the normally public proceedings private, arguing that the media attention would not be good for the child.[18] Johnston argued for open proceedings, saying he just wanted the case to be decided on the merits, [18] and that he did "not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding."[19]. In December 2009, on Tripp's first birthday, the judge sided with Johnston, and it was publicly announced that the pair had been battling for legal custody. Palin, who wished to win full custody rights, and child support consistent with Johnston's income, stated that Johnston had "exercised sporadic visitation rights" and "wants the rights for his own self-promotion".[18][19][20] Johnston sought shared custody and lower child support payments.

Palin originally had thought she would move away for college after high school, but her plans changed with the realities of single parenthood.[21] In February 2010, she and her son began living in a condo she had purchased in Anchorage, where she was working at a dermatologist's office and taking business courses at a community college.[21][22] Eventually, she moved out of the condo and returned to her parents' house in August 2010.[23]