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Judge Orders Bristol Palin And Ex-Partner Dakota Meyer To Share Joint Custody Of Daughter Sailor

By Val Powell
Published on: 23:08 PST, Mar 10, 2016

Reality TV personality Bristol Palin and her ex-partner, U.S. veteran Dakota Meyer, were ordered by an Alaska judge to have joint legal and physical custody of their two-month-old daughter, Sailor Grace.

Judge Herman G. Walker, Jr. made the decision and said in a statement that it would be in the best interest of Sailor if they worked together as parents to raise her.

The court order allows Meyer, 27, to travel 3,600 miles from his hometown of Kentucky to Alaska twice a month to pay his daughter a visit. In each of his visits, the first of which will begin in May, he will be given four consecutive days to be with Sailor.

However, Palin, 25, has objected to “overnight visitations” because the child is breastfeeding nightly, Judge Walker said.

“However the court finds it in the best interests of the child that overnight visitation [with the father] occur. Mother is to provide father with an adequate supply of milk or formula for overnight visitation,” the judge added.

According to the report, the battle over Sailor began way before she was born in December. Bristol agreed on visits, as long as they don’t exceed four hours.

The public speaker claimed that her ex-fiancé cannot go over four hours because she has a rigorous breastfeeding schedule for her baby.

However, Meyer shared a text message from Palin stating that she only breastfeeds at night. As a result, the Medal of Honor recipient’s camp asked the court to allow full-day visits and not overnights so Sailor’s mother can still breastfeed her without being interrupted at night.

The report stated that Bristol Palin initially agreed with the arrangement, but she eventually changed her mind when Dakota told her that he didn’t want to spend extended time in her company.

Considering Palin’s change of mind, Meyer wanted a court order to be put into effect so that he won’t have to fly thousands of miles to Alaska only to be sent home by Bristol because she is upset with him.

In a series of text messages that have since been used as references by the court, Palin admitted that canceling her wedding with Meyer was not a good idea and that she did not think about their baby at that time.

“I didn’t think about her when I called off the wedding, and I didn’t think about her when I left,” the text message said.

The TV personality has since told Meyer that she wanted him and his family to become a part of Sailor’s life. She also told Dakota that, as their baby grows, she feels that he is missing a lot.

Meanwhile, Meyer responded that while he also wants to spend time with their child, his hands are tied because he does not have legal rights to do so.

Palin and Meyer first met in 2014 on the set of Bristol’s mom Sarah Palin’s Sportsman Channel show, Amazing America. About a year later, the two were engaged during a Rascal Flatts concert.

Unfortunately, a week before the wedding in Kentucky, Bristol Palin called it off, saying that Meyer did not tell her beforehand that he had previously been married. She then packed her bags and returned home to Alaska.

About a month later, Palin announced that she was pregnant, to the dismay of her family members.

“Everyone knows I wanted more kids, to have a bigger family. Believing I was heading that way, I got ahead of myself. Things didn’t go as planned, but life keeps going on,” Bristol Palin said.

Aside from Sailor Grace, Palin has another child, Tripp, with former partner Levi Johnston.

[Image via Flickr]

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