Why did Sarah Palin get divorced?

From Tina Fey’s impression to her chaotic train wreck of a VP campaign, no one can forget former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. But while everyone remembers her statement about Alaskans being able to see Russia, Palin’s intense divorce story is another key part of her life.

It’s no secret that the GOP are all about marriage and while it seems particularly troubling now, that was the case even before JD Vance’s “childless cat ladies” rhetoric. While Palin might have been considered a legit candidate because she had been Todd Palin’s wife since 1988, their relationship didn’t last.

All about Sarah Palin’s divorce

In September 2019, The Anchorage Daily News reported that Todd filed for divorce, citing “incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife.” This is similar to irreconcilable differences, which you’ve probably heard is often the party line when people split up.

According to People, Palin told Dr. James Dobson about her divorce when recording an episode of his podcast. She didn’t sound happy about the process and said “Attorneys are getting rich off of us.” She added “I don’t like that whole system” because “It makes no sense to me.”

Palin said one thing during the podcast that even those who don’t share her politics can agree with: that everyone knows how emotional and messy divorce is. That definitely seems to be her experience. She said she was “devastated” and being told her husband had filed was like “I got shot.”

While she said they were talking to a counselor and seemed to think that they could make it, Todd must not have agreed because their divorce became official in spring 2020.

Who are Sarah and Todd Palin dating now?

Anyone who has gone through a terrible divorce wonders if someone else is out there for them… and Sarah seems to have found them. Page Six shared that she was dating hockey star Ron Duguay in Jan. 2022. A month later, Sarah said they weren’t in a relationship and told the publication, “He’s my buddy. We have hockey in common.” That same month, however, Duguay, who played for several NHL teams including the New York Rangers, told The Daily Beast that they were seeing each other. Maybe Sarah didn’t want any media attention on her, but no one could blame people for their curiosity about her love life.

In April 2022, Sarah changed her tune and shared several details with The New York Post. She said they had been pals before who reconnected in 2017 in New York City and Ron is “the first person that I’ve ever even talked to about a lot of this personal stuff.” Still the same Sarah Palin, she said Ron is “more pro-America, more pro-freedom than a lot of people I know” (despite the fact that he’s French-Canadian, as she also pointed out). While she hasn’t talked about him recently, they were seen dancing at a charity gathering in December 2023.

As for Todd, he hasn’t publicly shared that he has a new girlfriend and hasn’t gotten married again. But he could be dating someone privately.

Things seem to have worked out for her, but if every time you see Palin’s name, you think about Fey’s SNL skit, so do I!