Todd Palin filed for divorce from wife, and former GOP Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah last Friday, his 55th birthday, court records in Alaska show.
His complaint cited “incompatibility of temperament between the parties such that they find it impossible to live together as husband and wife.”
The filing asks for joint legal custody of their 11-year-old child Trig.
Anchorage attorney Kimberlee Colbo is representing Todd Palin in the divorce.
In a filing, Colbo said she would ask the court to designate the divorce confidential as it moves forward.
The two eloped in 1988 and have five kids together.
News of the divorce comes as a surprise to many — including friend Dean Cain, who had dinner with them at their Alaska home just a few months ago.
“They seemed wonderful together,” Cain told PEOPLE. “I’d hate to speculate on the cause — what happens behind closed doors, and how people grow and change over time is something no one can ever predict or understand, save those two people.”
Sarah Palin, 55, was elected governor of Alaska in 2006.
The Palin family rocketed to national prominence in 2008 when Republican presidential nominee John McCain chose Palin as his vice-presidential candidate, making them household names and focusing the country’s attention on their hometown of Wasilla.
The marriage of Sarah and Todd, a commercial fisherman, snowmachine racer and oil field worker, was frequently on display in TV interviews, reality shows, books and other media appearances.
Palin resigned as governor in 2009 after serving just half of her four-year term.
Since leaving office, Sarah Palin has kept a low profile in Alaska politics, while maintaining a national profile through her books, speaking engagements and social media presence.
The divorce filing was first reported by Anchorage blogger Craig Medred.