Bristol Palin thinks she’s let her kids down.
The mother of three opened up to Dr. Drew Pinsky on the Teen Mom OG reunion special that aired this week, detailing her awkward co-parenting situation with the fathers of her children and lamenting some of her life choices.
Palin was mostly critical of herself, however.
What did she say on air?
How did things get to this point?
Scroll down to find out…
When Teen Mom OG Started Filming…
… Bristol was in a relatively happy marriage to Dakota Meyer. They were (and still are, of course) parents to girls named Sailor and Atlee.
But Then?
The wheels came flying off this relationship. Fast. And hard.
PTSD Sucks!
Meyer was in the Marines. He lost most of his platoon to an attack in Afhganistan in 2009. We’re talking very serious stuff here.
Bristol Wasn’t Exactly Sympathetic, Though
Palin told the camera on her very first Teen Mom that her husband’s PTSD has been “hard on our marriage.” Which we can understand, but still: harsh!
Meyer Opens Up:
“We got in a big gunfight and everybody with me is dead,” Dakota said of the battle that took his friends. “When I first came home, train wreck is not even, that’s an understatement. Anxiety got me real bad.” He added that his children are the “reason I get up every day,” saying they “add to the quality of life, they’re everything.”
Damn, Dakota
“My anxiety has been going nuts, it’s been crushing me, I’ve been having nightmares,” Meyer explained to his wife at another point. “I’ve tried to tell you over and over and asked you for help a thousand times. All you want to do is tell me all the things that are wrong with me and all the things I do wrong when I have anxiety.”
Palin Failed to Be There for Meyer
“It’s hard for me to have compassion in these situations because you keep pulling the rug from underneath me,” she told Dakota, even questioning whether “this is his service” to blame “or this is just him being a dick.” OUCH!
And She Now Has Some Regrets
“I can’t imagine what he’s gone through and that realm, it’s not talked about enough,” Bristol said on the reunion. “I didn’t know how to be there, do you want me to try and calm you down, do you want me to leave you alone — as a wife I didn’t know what to do.”
My Bad, Dakota
Bristol also copped to “shutting down” whenever Meyer’s anxiety resurfaced.
Then, Bristol Really Got Real
Speaking about her divorce, Palin added that she feels “terrible as a mom,” especially for son Tripp, who is nine years old and whose dad is Levi Johnston.
Have I Let My Kids Down?
“I feel like I’ve kind of failed, with his dad [Levi Johnston], not being with his dad,” she said on the reunion stage. “I introduce somebody else into his life, we’re a family and now he doesn’t have that family.”
A Candid Conclusion:
“For me it’s been really difficult to try and navigate those waters. It’s not a good feeling to have — feeling like a failure.”
Bristol Had Previously Blamed Meyer for Abandoning Tripp
“He hasn’t reached out to Tripp and Tripp is crushed by it,†Bristol told a MTV producer of Meyer this season. “It breaks my heart.
Meyer Begged to Differ
“I never got the opportunity to [stay close to Tripp after my divorce,]†he said after Palin made this comment. “I don’t have custody of Tripp. It’s hard enough for his own dad to get to see him!”
We’re Divorced, Okay?!?
“When you have a stepchild, you don’t get the rights to that stepchild when you get divorced. If they’re under 18 you have to go through their mother to get them,” Meyer said simply, putting the onus on Palin to make sure Tripp and Meyer stay close.
The Finale Painted a Bleak Picture for These Two
Bristol railed against Dakota on the final episode before the reunion, telling him on air: “A coparent doesn’t talk to me this way… A coparent that doesn’t steal from me. You’ve got major issues. It has nothing to do with me. I think you’ve had these issues before we were married, and I think you have to work on yourself, Dakota, just like I’m working on myself.”
Replied Meyer:
“We can have a better relationship for our daughters when you stop being a compulsive liar.”
And, Yet… Hope Remains!
“In regards to the comment on tonight’s @teenmom episode insinuating Bristol is anything other than a great mother is deeply regretted on my part,” Meyer Tweeted after the finale.
Concluded Meyer in This Instance:
“Looking back and seeing my behavior does not represent the man I strive to be,” he added. “Going forward I have made the commitment to Bristol to work towards a better relationship and putting our children’s best interests before my own.â€Â
The Future May Be Bright Actually
And then Palin shared this photo of herself and Dakota playing paintball, insinuating that the bad blood has boiled over by writing as a caption, “parents vs kids, most fun ever.”