bristol palin is explaining why he hasn’t shown his face on Instagram in a while, and his reason is pretty solid.

in a Instagram story posted on Monday to his account.35-year-old daughter of former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, Sara PalinShe told her followers that she has had facial paralysis for more than a year and that she has a plan to fix it.

Bristol Palin first announced that she had been dealing with facial paralysis in January 2025.
Bristol Palin first announced that she had been dealing with facial paralysis in January 2025.

Bristol Palin’s Instagram via Page Six

“Today I am going to have a consultation with a plastic surgeon in Austin,” he said in his video, which was recorded and uploaded to YouTube by Page Six. “I’ve read that she specializes in facial paralysis type things, so we’ll see what she says.”

“Prayers that maybe she can help mainly with this eye,” he continued, pointing to his left eye and demonstrating what happens when he smiles.

“When I smile or when I’m expressive, it closes. I don’t really care about my crooked mouth, I care about my eye…” Palin said. “It’s very embarrassing for me. I feel like I should wear an eye patch or something.”

Palin visits
Palin visits “The Jenny McCarthy Show” at SiriusXM Studios on September 18, 2018 in New York City.

Astrid Stawiarz via Getty Images

“It seems crazy and I feel like I can’t even smile because it just shuts down,” she added. “So maybe you can do some Botox or maybe there are some options with surgery. So we’ll see! Maybe it can help with this eye or just the overall symmetry.”

In January 2025, Palin announced in an Instagram story, via Access Hollywoodwho had been dealing with facial paralysis for more than a week.

“I woke up nine days ago with a little strange feeling on my face,” Palin told her followers. “My mouth was pulling… and it felt a little bad. So I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘Wow, this looks a little weird.'”

He said a few hours later the entire left side of his face was numb.

Bristol Palin with her mother and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on an episode of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010.
Bristol Palin with her mother and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on an episode of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010.

Adam Larkey via Getty Images

He said doctors weren’t sure what his condition was, but speculated It could be Bell’s palsy. — a condition that causes sudden weakness in the facial muscles on one side of the face. However, the condition is usually temporary and improves over the course of several weeks.

Palin said in her video at the time that she believes it was “stress-induced” and that she was regaining feeling in her face.

The former “Teen Mom OG” star did not mention in her most recent video whether her diagnosis had changed.