Bristol Palin Celebrates Full Circle Moment Ahead Of Son Tripp’s Elimination On ‘DWTS: Juniors’ Premiere

Bristol Palin was a proud mama as she supported her son Tripp’s short-lived stint on Dancing with the Stars: Juniors. Ahead of the premiere of the pint-sized edition of the ABC celebrity ballroom competition, the Teen Mom OG star posted a throwback photo of her parents Sarah and Todd Palin, along with their grandson Tripp, in the audience supporting her when she competed on the regular version of the show in 2012. Palin added a new photo of her and her famous mom in the audience to cheer on Tripp for Dancing with the Stars: Juniors.

“Full circle right now!” Palin captioned the Instagram post, adding that she is “so proud” of her 9-year-old son as he competes on DWTS: Juniors.

Sadly, Tripp Palin Johnston was the first contestant eliminated from the ABC spinoff series, along with partner Hailey Bills and mentor Jenna Johnson. In addition to Tripp, Master Chef Junior champ Addison Osta Smith and her partner Lev Khmelev and mentor Keo Motsepe were eliminated following their premiere night performances.

“I wanted to do Dancing with the Stars: Juniors because my mom was on the show, and it looked like fun,” Tripp Palin Johnston told People. “I was nervous when my mom showed me clips of young dancers. I have never danced before. I worked past the nerves by just remembering to have fun.”

Tripp’s mom Bristol competed on Dancing with the Stars with pro dancer Mark Ballas in Season 11 in 2010, where she finished in third place. She returned to the show with Ballas as an all-star dancer on Season 15 in 2012. But nothing compared to passing the torch to her 9-year-old son for the inaugural Dancing with the Stars: Juniors season.

“I felt like a complete pageant mom, like, ‘Tripp, you better smile! You better practice!'” Bristol Palin told Entertainment Tonight. “It was more nerve-racking having my son on the show than it would have ever been to have myself on it, because it was like, ‘Smile! If you don’t have a good attitude, you are going to regret this!”

Bristol Palin noted that her son was one of the youngest competitors on the show, but that she hoped he would “have fun, make friends, learn some manners with girls, learn how to dance… and that is what he did.”

In addition to Tripp, her son with ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston, Bristol Palin is a single mom to daughters Sailor Grace and Atlee Bay with ex-husband Dakota Meyer.

Dancing with the Stars: Juniors airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ABC.