Bristol Palin’s family heartbreak as her son Tripp, 15, moves out of her Texas home

Bristol Palin expressed her heartbreak over her son Tripp Johnston’s decision to leave her family home in Texas in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday. 

Bristol, 33, who is currently based out of Austin, Texas, revealed the teenager has now moved back to the family’s native Alaska to live with his father – her former fiancé Levi Johnson, 34.

Bristol is mother to three children: son Tripp, 15, with Johnston, 34; and daughters Sailor Grace, eight, and Atlee Bay, seven, with ex-husband Dakota Meyer, 36.

She posted an image of her two daughters on the doorstep of their home to commemorate their first day of school on Wednesday, while detailing the changing dynamic in her family. 

The Wasilla, Alaska native posted an image of her younger two daughters in the post, with text explaining how she’s dealing with the move.

An emotional Bristol was pictured September of 2019 as she was baptized 

‘This has been the hardest “first day of school“ yet with one of the biggest pieces of my heart missing,’ Bristol said. ‘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.’

Bristol – the daughter of former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin – said she was doing her best to cope with the change. 

‘As hard as it is has been to come to this decision – it’s truly not about what I want,’ Bristol said.

Bristol cited her son growing older and the value of him spending time with his father in explaining how she’s handling the family issue.

‘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!’ Bristol said.

Bristol said she was still highly emotional about the situation, and hoping for as seamless a transition as possible.

‘I can’t talk about it yet without crying,’ Bristol said, ‘but selfishly praying for a quick year and easy transition for us.’

She posted an image of her two daughters on the doorstep of their home to commemorate their first day of school, while detailing the changing dynamic in her family 

Bristol posed with her daughters as they headed off for their first day of school 

Bristol was thrust into the national limelight in 2008 amid her mother’s vice presidential campaign alongside then Republican presidential candidate, late Arizona Sen. John McCain.

She appeared at the Republican National Convention in September 2008 alongside Johnston, as her pregnancy with Tripp when she was 17 made headlines, amid her mother’s swift rise to political prominence as McCain’s running mate.

Beyond the campaign, her relationship with Johnston remained in the public eye amid a pair of engagements before they eventually split for good.

Bristol made headlines in 2009 when she signed on for a $262,500 position to serve as an abstinence ambassador for a teen pregnancy prevention organization called The Candie’s Foundation.

‘Abstinence is the only way you can effectively 100 percent prevent pregnancy,’ Bristol said in a 2009 Good Morning America appearance. ‘It’s the safest choice and it will prevent teen pregnancy and a lot of heartache.’

Bristol in March of 2015 revealed she was engaged to Dakota Meyer, a Medal of Honor winner as a Marine. After calling off their engagement, they wed in 2016, prior to Meyer filing for divorce in 2018.

Bristol has also been involved in a number of showbiz endeavors, as she appeared on The Secret Life of the American Teenager in 2010, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars in 2010 and Teen Mom OG in 2018. 

Bristol and her then high school sweetheart Levi were thrust into the public eye after her mother Sarah Palin announced the 17-year-old was pregnant at the 2008 Republican National Convention 

Bristol and Levi called off their engagement in March 2009, just three months after their son, Tripp, was born on December 27, 2008