Bristol Palin, the oldest daughter of former Alaska Gov.Sarah PalinandTodd Palin, was thinking about hope — what brings it, what sends it away, how to hold onto it — in the daysafter her parents’ splitlast week.
On Monday morning Bristol, 28, shared on her Instagram Story a sermon from a Texas pastor called “Abounding in Hope,” a reference to a line in the Bible.
Within hours,news reports spreadthat Todd had filed for divorce from Sarah, both 55, after 31 years of marriage.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty
Neither Bristol nor her parents have commented publicly on the pending divorce, though the timing of her Instagram postdrew notice.
“When hope is present, people are encouraged to lay hold of what heaven has for them,” Christian Life Austin Pastor Rex Johnsonsays in the sermon, from March.
“Some have referred to hope as the ‘middle sister’ of faith and love,” he says. “I like that.”
Sarah and Todd,who met as high school studentsin Wasilla, Alaska and eloped in 1988, have five children together, including Bristol. Their youngest, 11-year-old son Trig, still lives at home. Todd is seeking joint custody.
Bristol Palin/ Instagram
From left: Sarah and Todd Palin in 2010.Kevin Mazur/Getty
Divorce rumorswere nothing new for the Palins. In the early years of their time in the national spotlight, they grew used to swatting them away.
“Our whole life is under a microscope,” Todd told PEOPLE in 2010.
FriendDean Cain, who competed with Todd on a 2012 competition reality series,had dinner with them in Alaskaa few months ago and said “they seemed wonderful together.”
“I’d hate to speculate on the cause,” Cain told PEOPLE. “What happens behind closed doors, and how people grow and change over time is something no one can ever predict or understand, save those two people.”
source: people.com
