Bristol Palin‘s relationship with ex Levi Johnston has been a roller coaster since welcoming their son almost 10 years ago.
“Things with Levi haven’t always been decent,” Palin tells her younger sister, Piper, in PEOPLE’s exclusive clip of Monday’s Teen Mom: OG episode.
In 2008, the former couple welcomed son Tripp Johnston when she was 17 years old.
“We were like high school sweethearts, and then I got pregnant junior year,” explains Palin, 28. “And then we broke up like right after Tripp was born.”
“And he wasn’t really part of Tripp’s life,” the mother of three says of Levi, 28, who is now married to Sunny Oglesby. “Just like really sporadic. Tripp didn’t spend the night with him until he was almost 4.”
Although they’ve moved on in the decade since welcoming Tripp (now 9), their relationship still requires combined effort and hard work.
“It’s definitely a work in progress,” says Palin, who finalized her divorce from Dakota Meyer over the summer.
RELATED: Teen Mom OG’s Bristol Palin Breaks Down in Tears of Frustration After Splitting from Dakota Meyer
In August, Palin shared an Instagram photo of the father-son pair posing in front of a dead caribou with a hunting rifle.
Palin, who is originally from Alaska, couldn’t help but gush about her son’s “incredible life learning experiences” in her caption.
“So proud of my son, and super thankful for his dad and stepmom for providing him with such incredible life learning experiences at such a young age!! #provider #fillingthefreezer,” Palin wrote.
She added, “(and please before you start calling peta – remember where your beef/chicken come from.. it doesn’t get more organic than this).”
Teen Mom OG airs Mondays (9 p.m. ET) on MTV.
