Sharing his side of the story. Dakota Meyer slammed ex-wife Bristol Palin for preventing him from being at the birth of their eldest daughter, Sailor.
The Marine, 30 — who is starring alongside his ex on the newest season of Teen Mom OG — took to Instagram on Wednesday, October 10, to share a photo with his oldest child. “[Bristol and I] got pregnant right after our engagement. We planned a wedding with our families and friends and Bristol decided to leave me a week prior. I spoke with her family every month and made it clear I would be the father of my child. I reached out to her before Sailor was born and asked what the plan was to coparent,” Meyer explained in the caption. “She told me to go through the courts to establish paternity.” (Meyer and Palin also share 1-year-old daughter Atlee Bay, while the Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp alum shares son Tripp, 9, with ex Levi Johnston.)
“I wasn’t invited to the birth and found out my child was born on Twitter–can you imagine being a dad and not being allowed to be at your child’s birth? She denied my paternity until it could be proven, at which point Sailor was born. For Bristol to state that Sailor didn’t have a dad is laughable–what really happened is Bristol kept our daughter from having a father present at birth and until the courts ruled that I was her father,” he continued, before adding, “I can promise you this, Sailor and Atlee always had a dad, and always will have a dad.”
On the Monday, October 8, episode of the hit MTV series, the former couple decided to end their marriage, which Palin, 27, elaborated on via Instagram Story. “Dakota moved out of our home more times than I would ever like to admit. He got an attorney. He filed for divorce. Wait, did you read that? He filed for divorce. And he kept coming and going based on what he thought was best. I did not ask for a divorce, but I did look at my children, and knew the marriage was NOT what was best for them,” the Dancing With the Stars alum explained. “Just because the picture you see painted is ME finally putting my foot down, to end the back and forth, does NOT mean I didn’t give my marriage and Dakota, everything I had in me.”
Palin and Meyer — who met in 2014 in Alaska — got engaged a year later. In April 2015, they called off their wedding days before they were set to walk down the aisle. They reconciled and in June 2016 announced that they had secretly tied the knot. Us Weekly confirmed in February that the couple had split up, with Meyer filing for divorce.
Despite their tumultuous relationship, the former couple have one thing in common: wanting to provide a good life for two daughters. “Our coparenting has been great,” Meyer told Us Weekly exclusively in September. “We’re focused on our children and what’s in the best interest of our children and I see nothing that leads me to believe it won’t be better in the future.”
Teen Mom OG airs on MTV Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
