NEED TO KNOW

  • Bristol Palin is still dealing with facial paralysis, after nearly a year of what doctors believe was Bell’s Palsy
  • In a Thanksgiving update, Palin showed off her holiday “fit” — which included a vintage bag, denim top, and “crooked face”
  • Her symptoms first began in January when, she says “within a couple hours” the left side of her face was “numb and just paralyzed”

Bristol Palin shared an update amid her ongoing struggle with her “crooked face” after enduring nearly a year with Bell’s Palsy.

The 35-year-old daughter of former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin posted a Thanksgiving update to her Instagram stories alongside 5-year-old daughter Sailor Grace Meyer, whom she shares with ex-fiancé Dakota Meyer, where they showed off their holiday “fit check.”

“Black skinnies, black long sleeve, same denim shirt I wear all the time, vintage Louis Vuitton,” Palin said, holding up the bag. She then added, “and still a crooked face.”

Bristol Palin and her daughter shared their holiday “fit check.”.

Bristol Palin/Instagram

Her struggle with facial paralysis has been going on since January, when the Dancing with the Stars alum took to social media to share that she’d had a sudden onset of what doctors believed is Bell’s Palsy.

“I woke up nine days ago with a little weird sensation in my face,” Palin said. “My mouth was pulling this way and it just felt a little off. So I went, looked in the mirror. I’m like ‘Wow. This is looking a little weird.’ ”

The public speaker shared that “within a couple hours the entire left side of my face was numb and just paralyzed … Couldn’t really blink my eye. Definitely had no movement on [the left side] of my face. So crazy.”

According to John Hopkins Medicine, Bell’s palsy is a sudden paralysis or weakness of the facial muscles, usually on one side of the face. It’s not “considered permanent” but in “rare cases, it doesn’t disappear.” It usually resolves within 6 months of the onset of symptoms — a far shorter time than what Palin has been struggling with.  

Bristol Palin (left) in 2018; (right) in early 2025.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty; Bristol Palin/Instagram

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Steroids, antiviral medications, and physical therapy are recommended treatments, and Palin shared that she’s tried “everything imaginable to resolve this” in a February update. “I’m not sure what else I should do. But I’ve spent the last 35 days doing something every single day to try and fix this and nothing has helped so far. So, I’m not sure what the future holds.”