Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston reveal exclusively in the new Us Weekly that they are getting married. And, they tell Us Weekly, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been kept in the dark about their plans ... until now.
"We got engaged two weeks ago," Bristol, 19, tells Us Weekly. "It felt right, even though we don’t have the approval of our parents."
PHOTOS: Bristol and Levi's relationship: a look back
Bristol and Levi, 20 -- who famously called off their previous engagement two weeks after welcoming son Tripp in December 2008 -- tell Us Weekly they reconnected three months ago while working out a custody plan for their 18-month-old son.
"I really thought we were over," Levi tells Us Weekly. "So when I went, I had no hope. I think we both just started talking — and then we took Tripp for a walk."
Says Bristol, "When he left that night, we didn’t hug or kiss, but I was thinking how different it was. He texted me: 'I miss you. I love you. I want to be with you again' ... I was in shock." ...
US Weekly's story continues with Bristol telling the magazine that she's scared of Sarah's reaction.
NBC's Today has an interesting story about the engagement:
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Us Weekly's story is here.
Update: The unavailability of NBC's video may be due to an embargo that may end soon. After it broadcasts on the west coast?
Update: Sarah and Todd Palin said in a statement on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that they want what's best for their children and that Bristol believes in "redemption and forgiveness." And it seems Bristol blames her mom for their initial breakup. In a newly released People interview, Bristol says that had her mom not been a VP candidate, she and Levi would already be married and would never have split. (via HuffPo, which has a large hi-res picture of Us Weekly's cover)
Update: The new video is not the earlier video with Matt Lauer, but it is an interesting interview with Caroline Schaefer, Us Weekly’s executive editor.
Update: The story must be true. It's made the paper of record. "Bristol Palin + Levi Johnston = Engaged."
Update: From Bristol's interview with People Magazine:
Bristol, who did not wear an engagement ring during her conversation with PEOPLE, replied to the question of if they would marry: "Yeah. I mean, I don't really want to get into detail about what's in store for our future, because who knows? But all I'd like to say about it is, hopefully we will be a family."
As for how they managed to bury the hatchet after their very public falling out, Bristol credits Levi's "just coming around. But, I don't know. It's good. It's good for all three of us [including son] Tripp Easton!"
Looking back, Bristol believes that if fame, money and her mom Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign had not become part of her and Levi's lives, the ex-couple would already be happy living a simple life.
"I think Levi and I would be married," she says without hesitation. "He would still have his [oil] job on the North Slope, and we'd be in a one-bedroom apartment, scraping by."
Bristol, who says all of her friends have gone out of state, has no plans to follow them. "Levi and I are both Alaska based, and I don't see us moving anywhere else."
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26 comments:
Don't know why the colors are off on the magazine's cover. Today's video has outtakes from the photo shoot with better colors.
VIDEO NO LONGER AVAILABLE!!!! Now just why would that happen?
Ooops! Almost forgot. I want to congratulate them, and I hope they're successful.
themom, Likely it was supposed to be embargoed until after "Today" has broadcast. It is only about 6:00 PST, so the segment hasn't been broadcast everywhere yet. It's now missing from the 'story' link, too. I'll check later that the video gets restored or link to wherever it's moved.
The video is over 5 minutes long, with a lot of background on their relationship and an interview with someone from Us Weekly.
LoLz, I hope Levi and Bristol didn't change their minds!
Sarah will be on board because from the looks of the cover picture she's about to have her second grandchild (third for some of you).....I believe Levi has cracked another nut without protection.....
She must be pregnant.
People has a story from an interview with Bristol - no mention of Us Weekly story.
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USAToday
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CNN
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NY Daily News -- I'll replace this post's photo of the Us Weekly cover with theirs because the colors are right.
Washington Post carries the AP's story.
Washington Post's hi-res slideshow (old pictures)
There are going to be a lot of stories about this. To keep up, go to Google News and plug something like
"levi johnston" "bristol palin"
into the search box.
No wedding date has been set, but Caroline Schaefer, Us Weekly’s executive editor, told TODAY’s Matt Lauer Wednesday morning that the reunited young couple would like to do it quickly — possibly in the next month. Until marriage, Schaefer said, the couple are living separately and practicing abstinence. Bristol Palin, who has moved out of her parents’ house, is a spokeswoman for an abstinence-only program.
“They said basically within a month or so, maybe six weeks,” Schaefer said of the wedding plans. “They have visions for getting married. They want to get married outdoors; Alaska. They want it to be very small — friends and family.”
Bristol shot down rumors that the couple may be under pressure to marry, as they were two years ago when the then 17-year-old Bristol got pregnant with Tripp.
“She said, ‘I’m not pregnant.’ She said they’re actually practicing abstinence right now and they’re not living together until they get married,” Schaefer said. NBC's story
Wow, that kid sure is blond, given such dark-haired parents. I hope they escape the Grifter's orbit to have a normal life, but notice that I'm not holding my breath. And I'm counting the months.
E!Online
Entertainment Weekly
Culture Mob has a short, interesting comparison of Levi/Bristol with Javier/Penelope. By the way, the Washington Post had this but it's been 404ed. Did CultureMob get the right picture? LoLz!
She isn't pregnant and they are practising abstinence.
Uh huh.
Now who's telling "not the complete truth"?
LoLz! So many cynics! Look at it from another point of view: Abstinence is hard, so you've got to hurry-up the wedding.
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See IM's post, too.
Levi is an idiot. Bristol is pregnant again and I doubt it is his kid. Sarah really has some hold on him. She appears to be desperate to cover up the upcoming arrival. Ben won't do. So she gets Levi to apologize so he's back in the fold. The kids will hurry up and marry so it will be "ok". Abstinence? I don't believe it.
“She said, ‘I’m not pregnant.’ She said they’re actually practicing abstinence right now and they’re not living together until they get married,” Schaefer said. NBC's story
If she is not preg or practicing birth control she would be on it about her weight gain like a typical young lady. Why go from Candies and Harper's pizzazz to a tubby mess to announce the BIG ENGAGEMENT and tell the scary mother her news?
Joie, I come here because of you and snowbilly, Catfood, your links, how fast your page loads, the ability to comment from my phone, and OF COURSE BECAUSE I'M A CYNIC! (Thanks for noticing, btw! )
Washington Post's From Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston to Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz: Recent celeb pairings that surprised us most is now a working link.
LA Times: Fast Track: Bristol Palin, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem special wedding edition ... more links at that story
They should do a long, world tour honeymoon. National Geographic might cover the story, too.
I don't make bets I can't win, but how much do you want to be they took down the original video and photos because Bristol already looks 3-4 months pregnant and more so than her mom did 2 weeks before Trig was actually presented to the world?
nswfm, I saw the video and didn't notice that Bristol looked pregnant, although I wasn't looking for that. I did notice the outtakes from the magazine's photo shoot.
It may just be that they (NBC) thought the second interview was better. It was more about Us Weekly's story about the story. Caroline Schaefer asked whether Bristol's pregnant again. I don't recall Matt Lauer asking that.
I thought the video was taken down because it shouldn't have been posted before it was broadcast (someone at NBC made a mistake).
In my comment at 1:18, It was Natalie Morales asked Caroline Schaefer whether Bristol might be pregnant.
Of course, Caroline Schaefer tells Natalie Morales what she heard from Bristol (re: the pregancy question), so anyone with a fine, legal mind could quiteeasily dismiss it as hearsay.
HuffPo has a video via Us Weekly of Bristol and Levi talking about his proposal.
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IM has a post with Joy Behar and a panel (Video) discussion about whether the marriage is politically motivated.
Mercede Johnston, Levi's sister, posted about the news. She wrote that she and her mom found out about it on the internet.
I guess it's win one for the cynics....
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