The husband of Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor who was Sen. John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 US presidential election, appears to have filed for divorce.

In a filing in Anchorage Superior Court on Friday, a plaintiff listed only as T.M.P. with the same birth date as Todd Mitchell Palin lodged a “complaint for divorce (with children).” The defendant is listed in the online record as S.L.P. and has the same birthdate as the former governor, whose middle name is Louise.

The filing also includes a child custody jurisdiction affidavit. The Palins have five children, the youngest of whom is a minor, age 11.

Neither the plaintiff’s lawyer nor Sarah Palin immediately responded to a request for comment. The divorce filing was first reported by independent Alaska journalist Craig Medred.

In a copy of the filing seen by the Anchorage Daily News, Todd Palin cited the reason for the divorce as the “incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife.”

The filing also lists the Palins’ wedding date and the date of birth of their youngest child, according to the newspaper.



The couple have been married since 1988.

In addition to being first gentleman — or “first dude,” as he called it — of Alaska while his wife held the governorship from 2006 to 2009, Todd Palin has been a commercial fisherman, snowmobile racer, and oil worker.