Bristol Palin Reveals Son Tripp Moved Back to Alaska to be Closer to Father, Rest of Family

The first day of school is a big deal for just about any parent — and Bristol Palin is no exception.

The mother of three took to Instagram on Wednesday, August 14, to celebrate the start of the school year, sharing a shot of her daughters Sailor, 8, and Atlee, 7, on her Story. The two appear standing in front of the Palin house, backpacks on and smiles wide.There was just one notable absence: her 15-year-old son, Tripp.

Palin, 33, explained over the post that Tripp is back in Alaska with his father, her former fiancé Levi Johnston . He and Palin began dating in high school in 2005 and had an on-and-off relationship before splitting for good in 2010.

Palin now works as a real estate agent in Austin, Texas and shares Sailor and Atlee with ex-husband Dakota Meyer . Johnston and his wife Sunny Oglesby live in Alaska with their daughters Breeze, 12, Indy Rae, 9 and Delta Jo, 5.

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“This has been the hardest ‘first day of school’ yet with one of the biggest pieces of my heart missing,” she wrote. “Tripp has decided to finish out high school in Alaska to be closer to his dad and our entire family.”

The Palin family has been in the spotlight since 2008 when then-presidential candidate John McCain famously tapped Bristol’s mother, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin , as his running mate. That same year, the family announced Bristol was pregnant with Tripp and that the couple was engaged.

After their split, Johnston and Bristol became locked in a messy custody dispute over Tripp. Johnston was eventually granted joint custody in 2016, after accumulating $100,000 in legal fees.

“If you know Tripp, you know he lives for hunting/fishing and I honestly can’t blame him for wanting to be back home,” Bristol’s post continued. “As hard as it has been to come to grips with his decision — it’s truly not about what I want. He’s almost 16 years old and that relationship with his dad is a lot more important than my own selfish desires of having him with his mama forever!”

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She added, “I can’t talk about it yet without crying, but selfishly praying for a quick year and easy transition for us all.”

Before turning to real estate, Bristol had a long TV career, including one season of Teen Mom OG and two seasons on Dancing With the Stars . She also starred in the short-lived Lifetime reality series Life’s A Tripp , which aired for 14 episodes in 2012 and chronicled her life in Alaska after a stint living in California.