Bristol Palin Marries Marine Hero Dakota Meyer, Dad to Her Second Child

Bombshell Palin daughter Bristol Palin quietly married Medal of Honor recipient and former Marine Dakota Meyer, the father of her second child yesterday.

Entertainment Tonight announced last night that the Dancing with the Stars TV star had married her former fiancee, Dakota Meyer. Palin's lawyer confirmed it.. She's 26 and he's 27. Proving that a girl who's kinda been around, can still find a nice guy to marry her! That is, at least if she's the daughter of a former Alaska Governor and 2008 VP candidate Sarah Palin.

Meyer had been previously engaged to Palin in 2015. But the wedding was abruptly called off a few days before it was to have been held. This time, they put aside their complaints, including a Superior Court complaint, and said "I Do." It is unclear whether they will live in Alaska or in Greensburg, Kentucky, the groom's hometown.

In January, Meyer filed an Alaska Superior Court complaint against Bristol Palin, wherein he sought joint custody of their child, Sailor Grace Palin, who was born December 23, 2015.

Bristol Palin had her first child in December 2008 with former fiancee Levi Johnston. The two never married despite having a child together, which drew the concern and attention of social conservatives. In 2008, Sarah Palin was running for Vice President and preaching social conservative values such as abstinence.

Bridegroom Dakota Louis Meyer (born June 26, 1988) is a United States Marine Corps vet who served during the War in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Meyer is the second youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, the third living recipient for either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan and the first living Marine in 38 years to be so honored. He basically saved 12 Afghan soldiers from certain death, as is described more fully hereinbelow.

The bride, Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin (born October 18, 1990) describes herself as a public speaker and reality television personality. She is the oldest daughter and of Todd and Sarah Palin. She is the second of five children, after Track.

Palin competed in the fall 2011 season of Dancing with the Stars She reached the finals and finished in third place. In summer 2011, Palin released a memoir Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far. In summer 2012, she starred in the Lifetime show Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp. Her most recent television series was as a member of the fall 2012 all-star cast of Dancing with the Stars's 15th season. She was eliminated in the fourth week of competition.

So who is the groom? He's had a rather controversial life for a 27 year old.

On September 8, 2009, near the village of Ganjgal, Meyer learned that three Marines and a Navy corpsman, who were members of Meyer's squad and his friends, were missing after being ambushed by a group of insurgents. Under enemy fire, Meyer entered an area known to be inhabited by insurgents and eventually found the four missing servicemen dead and stripped of their weapons, body armor and radios. With the help of Afghan soldiers, he moved the bodies to a safer area where they could be extracted. During his search, Meyer "personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe."

A year after the Battle of Ganjgal, after drinking at a friend's house, Meyer attempted to commit suicide using a Glock pistol kept in his truck's glove compartment. The gun was not loaded. Meyer later sought help for post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to Daily Mail, Meyer was married to Cassandra Marie Wain in 2008 and divorced in March 2010.

In September 2011, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear awarded Meyer the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel during an event in his hometown of Greensburg in which Meyer served as grand marshal.

Meyer filed a lawsuit against his former employer, defense contractor BAE Systems, alleging the company and his supervisor punished him for his opposition to a weapons sale to Pakistan.[22] The lawsuit claimed that BAE Systems ridiculed Meyer's Medal of Honor, called him mentally unstable and suggested he had a drinking problem, thereby costing him a job.[23] On December 15, 2011, BAE announced that the parties resolved their dispute out of court.[24]

On December 14, 2011, McClatchy news outlets published an article which questioned the actual number of lives Meyer saved. The article stated that "crucial parts that the Marine Corps publicized were untrue, unsubstantiated or exaggerated," but that Meyer "by all accounts deserved his nomination."

Meyer and Bing West wrote the book Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War, about the Battle of Ganjgal. It was published on September 25, 2012. In the book, Meyer makes a case for Army Captain William D. Swenson to be awarded the Medal of Honor;[19] Swenson had criticized Army officers at the nearby Forward Operating Base Joyce for not providing fire support, the resulting political fallout not conducive to awarding him the medal. Those same officers were later cited following a military investigation for "negligent" leadership leading "directly to the loss of life" on the battlefield. Swenson was awarded the Medal of Honor on October 15, 2013.

In 2013, Meyer participated in the fourth season of Maximum Warrior, a TV competition among US-military men, featuring 10 military-inspired challenges. Meyer, eliminated on the eighth episode, "Night Hostage Rescue", airing November 26, 2013, finished in fourth place.[29]

On March 13, 2015, Meyer became engaged to Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. On May 18, Sarah and Bristol Palin announced that the wedding, originally scheduled for May 23, 2015, had been called-off.

On June 25, 2015, Bristol Palin announced that she was pregnant for a second time. She gave birth to daughter Sailor Grace on December 23, 2015.

On January 6, 2016, People (magazine) reported that Dakota Meyer is the biological father of the child and that Meyer had filed legal documents asking for joint legal and physical custody of the newborn as well as child support from Palin.

In March 2016 an interim joint legal and physical custody agreement was reached between Palin and Meyer. On June 8th 2016, Bristol Palin and Dakota Meyer were married.

As of 2015, Meyer sits on the advisory board for VETPAW, an organization of U.S. military veterans dedicated to protecting African wildlife.

Who is Levi Johnston? Levi Keith Johnston (born May 3, 1990) is the former fiancé of Bristol Palin. He first received media attention in August 2008 when U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced that her daughter Bristol was five months pregnant with Johnston's baby and that the two were engaged. Ultimately, the couple ended their relationship, and Johnston and the Palin family engaged in several public feuds.

After working in the Alaskan oil fields, Johnston began pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, aspiring to be a model and an actor. He has written a book based on his experiences with the Palins entitled, Deer in the Headlights.

After his 2009 breakup with Bristol, Johnston gave a series of nationally televised interviews. He appeared on The Tyra Banks Show with his mother and sister, saying he wanted to dispel rumors.

Remarking on Bristol's public appearances to promote sexual abstinence, Johnston told The Early Show that "abstinence is a great idea" but said it was unrealistic to think it is going to work for teens. In another interview he said that he was "pretty sure" Sarah Palin had known that he and Bristol were having sex in the family's house.

The Palin family denounced Johnston's statements as lies, with one public statement reading, "We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship."

In August 2009, Johnston speculated that Sarah Palin's early resignation from office was due to long-standing marital difficulties, the pressures of the job, and lucrative book and other media offers.

In a September 2009 Vanity Fair interview, Johnston alleged that Sarah Palin initially wanted the couple to keep Bristol's pregnancy a secret and offered to adopt the baby and raise him as her own, but that he and Bristol rejected the plan. In response, Sarah told the media Johnston's statements were "untrue, malicious, and appalling", emphasizing that she highly appreciated her children and commenting that Johnston's photoshoots were "attention-seeking and desperate".