Category: Alaska

Amid her life-altering battle with facial paralysis, Bristol Palin has shared a shock revelation with fans.

The daughter of Sarah Palin, 34, revealed on Monday that she’s been sober from alcohol for an entire year.

It marks the first time that Bristol has openly discussed her relationship with alcohol and her sobriety journey.

Bristol celebrated the milestone in a now-expired text post uploaded to her Instagram Story.

‘365 days without alcohol.. *which sounds dramatic because I’ve never been a big “drinker,”‘ wrote the influencer, who boasts over 550,000 followers.

Bristol went on to say that she prefers navigating life with a ‘completely sober mind’ and she recommended her fans do the same.

She continued: ‘But this year of having a completely sober mind has allowed me to reevaluate a lot. I don’t want to alter the state of my mind, and don’t want to ‘take the edge off’ of anything. 10/10 would recommend.’

One day after revealing she’s one-year sober, Palin returned to Instagram to provide an update on her facial paralysis, which she’s been battling for 10 weeks.

The mystery condition has left her with ‘no muscle movement’ on the left half of her face.

And as of Tuesday, Bristol reported that she’s experienced little improvement in the last 71 days.

‘this feels so vain to talk about, but here’s the update.. 71 days and my face is still half paralyzed,’ wrote Bristol, who included footage of herself struggling to make facial expressions.

She also spoke in the video about getting ‘nerve blocks’ in her neck and back during her recent visit to Alaska.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, nerve blocks are an ‘injection of medication close to a targeted nerve or group of nerves to provide temporary pain relief.’

Bristol believes that the injections ‘have improved’ her condition and she is experiencing ‘a lot less’ of a pulling sensation in her face and neck.

While she is now able to move her left eyebrow ‘a little,’ Bristol said that’s the extent of the improvement.

She concluded her update by revealing her plans to return to Alaska in a few weeks to get ‘something more extreme because this is a very bad case [of facial paralysis].’

Bristol first revealed her shock ailment in January.

She said that the first sign something was wrong was when she noticed that her face had suddenly started ‘pulling’ to the left.

‘I woke up nine days ago with a little weird sensation in my face – my mouth was pulling [to the left], and it just felt a little off,’ she said in a January 29 Instagram video. ‘Within a couple of hours, the entire left side of my face was numb and just paralyzed,’ she said at the time.

She said she couldn’t blink her eye and ‘definitely had no movement on the side of [her] face.’

At the time, Bristol said that her doctor believed she had a case of Bell’s palsy — which is temporary paralysis or weakness of the facial muscles — as the tests she underwent turned up ‘nothing.’ 

Since then, the mother-of-three has been doing acupuncture ‘4 times a week’ as part of her ongoing search for a cure.

Bristol’s recent Alaska trip wasn’t entirely medical related.

She was also there to visit her son Tripp, 16, who moved to Alaska last year to live with his father and Bristol’s ex-fiance Levi Johnston.

During the trip, Bristol got to see Tripp attend his first prom.

On Monday, the proud mom uploaded a photo of Tripp, rocking a navy blue suit and Nike sneakers, twirling around his prom date before heading to the dance.

‘tripp had prom this weekend, how is this even possible [smiling teary-eyed emoji,’ Bristol captioned the post. 

Bristol is based in Texas with her other two kids — daughters Sailor Grace, eight, and Atlee Bay, seven — who she shares with ex-husband Dakota Meyer, 36. 

She revealed that Levi had moved out of their Texas home in an August 2024 Instagram post.

Bristol had posted an image of her two daughters on the doorstep of their house to commemorate their first day of school, 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.

‘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 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,’ she penned.

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.’

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.

Bristol Palin spoke about her ongoing bout with facial paralysis in an Instagram Stories clip Wednesday. 

The Wasilla, Alaska-born reality star, 33, spoke about her ongoing health battle while she was seated in a vehicle clad a green sweatshirt with gold hoop earrings and her hair tied back.

Palin explained to her followers what she was going through, as the health crisis hit the three-week mark. 

‘We’re on 23 of this, which is absolutely insane,’ she said. ‘Can’t move the left side of my face at all. It’s really hard to blink. I can’t blow out a candle. My sisters makes so much fun of me because I look crazy.’

Bristol previously said that there was one dance professional on Dancing With the Stars who she didn’t get along with very well.

Bristol appeared on the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast with one-time DWTS professional Cheryl Burke, where she spoke about her experience on the ABC ballroom competition.

The Wasilla, Alaska-born reality star told Burke, 40, that during her time on the show’s 11th season in 2010, she felt ‘tension’ emanating from one of the show’s stalwart dance pros.

Bristol – the daughter of former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin – would go on to finish third in the competition as she was paired with pro dancer Mark Ballas, 38.

Bristol said that she had tension with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, 44, who she said would roll his eyes during the segments in which she would get saved from being eliminated despite other pairs getting better scores from the judges.

‘Maks? He hated me so much,’ Bristol said of Chmerkovskiy, who had been paired up with singer Brandy that season. They finished fourth, while Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough went on to win.

Asked by Burke what the issue was between her and Chmerkovskiy, Bristol said, ‘I don’t know, probably just because we kept going through.’

Bristol said Chmerkovskiy had been ‘real nice at the beginning,’ but things got progressively more pointed the further she advanced through the competition, and that she ‘definitely felt the tension from’ the Ukraine-born dance pro.

She added, ‘I forgot about that.’ 

Chmerkovskiy’s rep told Entertainment Weekly in a statement: ‘Maks doesn’t hate anybody. For [Palin] to say that would be a mischaracterization of his feelings.

‘I think he and everyone else in America, 14 years ago, thought that he and Brandy were on their way to winning that year, if not coming into the finals.’

Chmerkovskiy’s rep said that ‘there was a bit of disappointment when she leapfrogged him into the finals … it’s a competition. He’s very competitive and took it seriously.’

Bristol would go on to return to the ballroom floor two years later for the show’s lone Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars season that aired in 2012. 

Again paired with Ballas, the duo finished in ninth place, with The Bachelor alum Melissa Rycroft emerging victorious.

Bristol said that appearing on the ABC competition buoyed her with confidence that she can ‘step out of my comfort zone’ and ‘put myself out there.’

On the podcast with Burke, Bristol said ‘it was really hard’ having her weight constantly speculated on during her run on the series.

‘I mean, my weight fluctuates,’ Bristol said. ‘It was like everyone was talking about my weight, and then I was stressed out about my weight.

‘I felt like I was just eating even more and gaining even more weight. It was just like a vicious cycle and it affected my confidence so much for years to come because it was such a topic.’

She cited an instance in which comic Kathy Griffin called her the ‘white version of Precious,’ referring to Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe, 41.

Said Bristol: ‘It was all over the news for a while. It just bugs me so bad because I would be so upset if somebody was talking about my daughter like that. Obviously I knew I was gaining weight, and just for her to say something like that was, “Oh, OK.”‘

In a caption on Instagram, Burke said she wanted to express her ‘gratitude and admiration’ for the ‘candid conversation’ they engaged on on her podcast.

Dancing With the Stars 33rd season is set to debut on ABC and Disney+ September 17, landing on Hulu the next day.

Bristol earlier this month said she was leaning on her faith amid a difficult time as her eldest child Tripp Johnston has moved back to the family’s native Alaska to live with his father – her former fiancé Levi Johnston – and his current spouse Sunny Johnston.

After Bristol, who is currently based out of Austin, Texas, revealed the teenager moved in with his father, she shared a devotional from a Gospel book titled New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional on her Instagram Stories August 15.

The post came as Levi’s wife Sunny Johnston, 32, shared a shot of Tripp, 15, and Levi, 34, hunting while declaring how Tripp’s move marked a ‘dream’ scenario for both father and son.

‘Well! According to my news feed, cats out of the bag,’ Sunny said. ‘Yes, Tripp is living full time in our home in Alaska. We couldn’t be happier he’s getting to live out his dream of living with his dad!

‘This has been Levi’s dream as well. It’s been a surreal feeling to be a complete family for longer than just school breaks like it has been for years.’

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

Sunny posted an image of Tripp, who is headed into 10th grade, alongside his three sisters Breeze, 13, Indy Rae, eight, and Delta Jo, five, with their respective classes on the ‘first day of school.’

Bristol expressed her heartbreak over her son Tripp Johnston’s decision to leave her family home in an emotional Instagram post on August 14. 

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. 

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

‘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 said she was doing her best to cope with the change. She said, ‘As hard as it is has been to come to this decision – it’s truly not about what I want.’

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.’

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. 

In her 2011 book Not Afraid of My Life, Bristol dubbed Levi a ‘gnat’ who had ‘stolen her virginity’ after she had been consuming alcohol. 

Appearing on Good Morning America in June of 2011, Bristol clarified she was ‘not accusing Levi of date rape or rape at all.

‘I’m looking back with adult eyes and thinking, that was a foolish decision,’ she said. ‘I should never have been underage drinking, and I should never have gotten myself into a situation like that.’

The statements triggered legal activity in which Johnston requested for hearings to be publicized ‘as a check against anyone’s need to be overly vindictive, aggressive, or malicious.’

Johnston said, ‘Not that Bristol would be that way, nor would I. But her mother is powerful, politically ambitious, and has a reputation for being extremely vindictive…So, I think a public case might go a long way in reducing Sarah Palin’s instinct to attack.’

Johnston in November of 2013 filed court docs to have joint custody of Tripp, saying it had been in the child’s best interests, after Bristol previously had been awarded full custody. 

Bristol said that the court filing had been a move to impact child support payments, as he had been $66,000 behind on his slate at the time. 

Bristol would again take Johnston to court saying that he had not demonstrated he was fit to be a parent.

Bristol said Johnston hadn’t had visits with a young Tripp, and squandered his earnings on vacations, luxury vehicles and hunting trips as opposed to his child support obligations. 

In addition to her work on Dancing With the Stars, Bristol also appeared on the Lifetime TV series Life’s a Tripp and MTV’s Teen Mom OG in 2018.  

Bristol Palin said that there was one dance professional on Dancing With the Stars who she didn’t get along with very well.

Bristol, 33, appeared Sunday on the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast with one-time DWTS professional Cheryl Burke, where she spoke about her experience on the ABC ballroom competition.

The Wasilla, Alaska-born reality star told Burke, 40, that during her time on the show’s 11th season in 2010, she felt ‘tension’ emanating from one of the show’s stalwart dance pros.

Bristol – the daughter of former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin – would go on to finish third in the competition as she was paired with pro dancer Mark Ballas, 38.

Bristol said that she had tension with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, 44, who she said would roll his eyes during the segments in which she would get saved from being eliminated despite other pairs getting better scores from the judges.

‘Maks? He hated me so much,’ Bristol said of Chmerkovskiy, who had been paired up with singer Brandy that season. They finished fourth, while Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough went on to win.

Asked by Burke what the issue was between her and Chmerkovskiy, Bristol said, ‘I don’t know, probably just because we kept going through.’

Bristol said Chmerkovskiy had been ‘real nice at the beginning,’ but things got progressively more pointed the further she advanced through the competition, and that she ‘definitely felt the tension from’ the Ukraine-born dance pro.

She added, ‘I forgot about that.’ 

Chmerkovskiy’s rep told Entertainment Weekly in a statement: ‘Maks doesn’t hate anybody. For [Palin] to say that would be a mischaracterization of his feelings.

‘I think he and everyone else in America, 14 years ago, thought that he and Brandy were on their way to winning that year, if not coming into the finals.’

Chmerkovskiy’s rep said that ‘there was a bit of disappointment when she leapfrogged him into the finals … it’s a competition. He’s very competitive and took it seriously.’

Bristol would go on to return to the ballroom floor two years later for the show’s lone Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars season that aired in 2012. 

Again paired with Ballas, the duo finished in ninth place, with The Bachelor alum Melissa Rycroft emerging victorious.

Bristol said that appearing on the ABC competition buoyed her with confidence that she can ‘step out of my comfort zone’ and ‘put myself out there.’

On the podcast with Burke, Bristol said ‘it was really hard’ having her weight constantly speculated on during her run on the series.

‘I mean, my weight fluctuates,’ Bristol said. ‘It was like everyone was talking about my weight, and then I was stressed out about my weight.

‘I felt like I was just eating even more and gaining even more weight. It was just like a vicious cycle and it affected my confidence so much for years to come because it was such a topic.’

She cited an instance in which comic Kathy Griffin called her the ‘white version of Precious,’ referring to Oscar-nominated actress Gabourey Sidibe, 41.

Said Bristol: ‘It was all over the news for a while. It just bugs me so bad because I would be so upset if somebody was talking about my daughter like that. Obviously I knew I was gaining weight, and just for her to say something like that was, “Oh, OK.”‘

In a caption on Instagram, Burke said she wanted to express her ‘gratitude and admiration’ for the ‘candid conversation’ they engaged on on her podcast.

Dancing With the Stars 33rd season is set to debut on ABC and Disney+ September 17, landing on Hulu the next day.

Bristol earlier this month said she was leaning on her faith amid a difficult time as her eldest child Tripp Johnston has moved back to the family’s native Alaska to live with his father – her former fiancé Levi Johnston – and his current spouse Sunny Johnston.

After Bristol, who is currently based out of Austin, Texas, revealed the teenager moved in with his father, she shared a devotional from a Gospel book titled New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional on her Instagram Stories August 15.

The post came as Levi’s wife Sunny Johnston, 32, shared a shot of Tripp, 15, and Levi, 34, hunting while declaring how Tripp’s move marked a ‘dream’ scenario for both father and son.

‘Well! According to my news feed, cats out of the bag,’ Sunny said. ‘Yes, Tripp is living full time in our home in Alaska. We couldn’t be happier he’s getting to live out his dream of living with his dad!

‘This has been Levi’s dream as well. It’s been a surreal feeling to be a complete family for longer than just school breaks like it has been for years.’

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

Sunny posted an image of Tripp, who is headed into 10th grade, alongside his three sisters Breeze, 13, Indy Rae, eight, and Delta Jo, five, with their respective classes on the ‘first day of school.’

Bristol expressed her heartbreak over her son Tripp Johnston’s decision to leave her family home in an emotional Instagram post on August 14. 

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. 

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

‘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 said she was doing her best to cope with the change. She said, ‘As hard as it is has been to come to this decision – it’s truly not about what I want.’

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.’

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. 

In her 2011 book Not Afraid of My Life, Bristol dubbed Levi a ‘gnat’ who had ‘stolen her virginity’ after she had been consuming alcohol. 

Appearing on Good Morning America in June of 2011, Bristol clarified she was ‘not accusing Levi of date rape or rape at all.

‘I’m looking back with adult eyes and thinking, that was a foolish decision,’ she said. ‘I should never have been underage drinking, and I should never have gotten myself into a situation like that.’

The statements triggered legal activity in which Johnston requested for hearings to be publicized ‘as a check against anyone’s need to be overly vindictive, aggressive, or malicious.’

Johnston said, ‘Not that Bristol would be that way, nor would I. But her mother is powerful, politically ambitious, and has a reputation for being extremely vindictive…So, I think a public case might go a long way in reducing Sarah Palin’s instinct to attack.’

Johnston in November of 2013 filed court docs to have joint custody of Tripp, saying it had been in the child’s best interests, after Bristol previously had been awarded full custody. 

Bristol said that the court filing had been a move to impact child support payments, as he had been $66,000 behind on his slate at the time. 

Bristol would again take Johnston to court saying that he had not demonstrated he was fit to be a parent.

Bristol said Johnston hadn’t had visits with a young Tripp, and squandered his earnings on vacations, luxury vehicles and hunting trips as opposed to his child support obligations. 

In addition to her work on Dancing With the Stars, Bristol also appeared on the Lifetime TV series Life’s a Tripp and MTV’s Teen Mom OG in 2018.  

Friends of gospel group The Nelons share heartbreaking message on Sunday following the families death during a tragic plane crash.

The group is formed of Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and Kelly’s daughters Amber Nelon Kistler and Autumn Nelon Streetman.

Kelly, Jason and Amber were amongst those killed in the accident, with Amber’s husband Nathan Kistler, and three friends also dead. 

They were travelling to the Gaither Homecoming Alaskan Cruise when the plane crashed over a remote area of northeastern Wyoming. There were no survivors. 

Now, friends and coworkers of the family are publicly grieving their deaths.

Mark Lowry told The U.S. Sun: ‘Our hearts are heavy with the news of the tragic passing of our dear friends’. 

Mark was set to perform alongside The Nelons on the seven-day cruise from Seattle, Washington, to Alaska.

He said: ‘We have created so many precious memories over the decades that I will hold dear, so many good times and so much laughter.

‘Our only comfort is knowing that they have seen our Savior face to face, and we’ll join in singing with them again one day soon.’

Meanwhile Autumn, who wasn’t on the plane released a statement on Saturday to announce the sad news. 

She wrote: ‘As many of you have heard by now, my father and mother, Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, along with my sister, Amber, and brother-in-law, Nathan, as well as our dear friends Melodi Hodges, Larry, and Melissa Haynie, were involved in a tragic plane crash on Friday. 

‘Thank you for the prayers that have been extended already to me, my husband, Jamie, and our soon-to-be-born baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents, Dan and Linda Clark. We appreciate your continued prayers, love, and support as we navigate the coming days.’

A statement from Gaither Management Group added: ‘One of the best loved Gospel music families in America, The Nelons were involved in a tragic, fatal plane crash on Friday afternoon on their way to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska.

‘Killed in the crash were Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, Amber and Nathan Kistler and their assistant, Melodi Hodges, along with the pilot, Larry Haynie and his wife, Melissa. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.

‘Autumn, Jason and Kelly’s youngest daughter, and her husband, Jamie Streetman were not on the plane and arrived safely into Seattle and were notified of the accident. 

‘They were brought to the hotel where artists were gathered with Bill and Gloria Gaither to pray, sing and embrace them in their grief, pledging to support them in whatever needs arise.

‘Autumn and Jamie will return home for now to Kelly’s brother, Todd Nelon and his wife, Rhonda, to begin the hard tasks that lie ahead. Please keep them, the Kistler family, the Haynie family and the family of Melodi Hodges in your prayers.’ 

The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office reports the crash happened at around 1PM on Friday, July 26, just north of Gillett.