What You Don't Know About Sarah Palin

You likely know Sarah Palin as the former governor of Alaska who shot to political superstardom seemingly overnight when she was named John McCain's vice presidential nominee during the 2008 presidential race. While many questioned the choice, especially as Palin herself was open about her own lack of knowledge and experience with international relations, she insisted that the job was one she could handle. After their defeat in the election, Palin went back to Alaska to continue serving as governor of the state.

Since then, Palin has weathered some extreme ups and downs (via ABC News). However, she remains optimistic. "You see a lotta silver lining here, don't you?" Palin remarked to CBS News in 2015. "You see, you know, there's clouds but, man, there's light comin' through the clouds all the time. And I have an illustration every day here in Alaska of beauty in more ways than one. I look around and I get to see the beauty of God's creation and, man, it makes me appreciate it."

While Palin is certainly a polarizing political figure, one thing is for sure: The backbone that helped her become the first female governor of Alaska has continued to serve her throughout the years. 

Politics isn't the only game that Sarah Palin has been interested in. Back in 2010, she starred in her very own reality series titled "Sarah Palin's Alaska." The series, which aired on TLC for one season, was set to offer up an inside look at the life of one of the most divisive political figures in recent American history. 

While speaking to ABC News, Palin made it clear that she didn't appreciate the term "reality television" being applied to her own show, despite the fact that it definitely televised the reality of her life. As she protested, "This is not Housewives of Alaska. This is about the uniqueness of Alaska, the special place it is, and showing the rest of America why we are here and what we have to offer."

Unfortunately for Palin's television ambitions, though, she was up against a lot of negative public perception when the show debuted. Political reporter Stuart Rothenberg was blunt when he told ABC News, "She doesn't do many things to demonstrate depth, seriousness and substance. She's not going that route with this TV show."

When John McCain announced that Sarah Palin would serve as his running mate in the 2008 election, many people were skeptical that Palin really had the knowledge and skillset to do the job. After all, she had only just begun a term as the governor of Alaska, and she wasn't well-known to many people outside the state. It wasn't too surprising that journalists covering the presidential race had a lot of questions for Palin, and that some of them were especially hard-hitting.

In September 2008, ABC News host and anchor Charlie Gibson interviewed Palin about her qualifications for the office of vice president. After being asked if she felt certain she had the necessary experience, Palin replied, "I do, Charlie, and on January 20, when John McCain and I are sworn in, if we are so privileged to be elected to serve this country, will be ready. I'm ready."

However, Palin also admitted to having little experience traveling outside the United States, and further added that she had not yet met a head of state from another country. Nevertheless, Palin was firm in her response, adding, "I have not and I think if you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you" (via ABC News).

In December 2018, comedian and performer Sacha Baron Cohen managed to fool a whole host of celebrities and politicians as he filmed "Who Is America?" for Showtime. Cohen played a character named Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr., Ph.D., who was interviewing notorious people as part of a project for his supposed website Truthbrary.org. 

The interview between Palin and Cohen did not make it into "Who Is America?" but the former governor was thanked in the credits as "Special Publicity Consultant (Inadvertent)," reported The Daily Beast. Cohen later told Deadline why he didn't include the footage. As he put it, "I looked at the footage and it just wasn't funny enough. For the pieces to be good, there has to be a good comic dynamic. She was just delivering these kind of rote answers, as if she was doing a campaign speech."

Ultimately, Cohen did end up extending an invitation to Palin to attend the Golden Globes as his date when he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV series Musical or Comedy for "Who Is America?" but it appears that she declined (per Deadline).

Sarah Palin might have been surprised when she found out her then-husband wanted to get divorced, but she eventually moved on and has even begun dating again. Having said that, it clearly took Palin some time to arrive at that place. In an April 2022 interview with the New York Post, Palin was very open and honest about how she felt about her divorce, explaining, "It was the most earth-shattering, bizarre thing I could have ever imagined and it kind of remains so."

Palin went on to admit that she wasn't very interested in dating following her divorce until she connected with former New York Ranger Ron Duguay, with whom she says she has an authentic connection that surprised her. As Palin put it, "Ron is the first person that I've ever even talked to about a lot of this personal stuff. So it's been helpful and refreshing to have Ron to talk to about not just politics ... but just about life." The two spent a lot of time in New York, with Palin sharing that Duguay took her on a tour of the city, even showing her various points of interest from his years as a Ranger.