MTV star Bristol Palin recently took to her Instagram story to give an update on her mysterious facial paralysis, according to Page Six.
Bristol Palin’s Mysterious Paralysis
In January 2025, Palin announced she had been suffering through a scary and confusing medical incident. “I woke up nine days ago with a little weird sensation in my face. 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,'” Palin told her Instagram followers.
Palin said her condition got worse as the day went on. “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,” she said.
After a series of tests, doctors suggested she may be suffering from Bell’s Palsy. Palin improved over time, but the movement has yet to completely return to her face, as we now know.
According to Page Six, on January 3, 2026, Palin shared a previous video in which a fan had asked for an update on her health struggles. She announced she’ll eventually get Botox for one of her eyes because “it just gets so small when I smile, or when I’m expressive at all.”
“Could be worse, could be better,” Palin said of her facial paralysis. “At least I’ve got cute sunglasses.”
Bristol Palin’s Reality TV Career
GettyPalin may have originally been known for being the daughter of the first female Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, but she’s since become famous on her own. In 2010, Palin appeared in an episode of the scripted drama, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” in which she played a friend to the main character.
Later that same year, Palin competed on “Dancing with the Stars,” where she was partnered with Mark Ballas. She ultimately came in third place and was invited back for an all-star season two years later. She and Ballas were once again partnered, although they were unfortunately eliminated in week four.
Palin starred in her own reality show for one season on Lifetime in 2012. “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp” followed the reality star as she moved back to Alaska after living in California.
Palin’s most recent reality TV show appearance was on MTV’s “Teen Mom OG,” on which she starred in 2018. According to People, Palin was brought onto the show after Farrah Abraham decided to quit. Unlike the rest of the cast, Palin had not appeared on “Teen Mom” or “16 and Pregnant.”
Today, Palin resides in Austin, Texas, where she’s a real estate agent, per her website.
