Exclusive: Co-Parents Bristol Palin, Ex-Beau Start Anew
Sarah Palin's daughter says she and ex-boyfriend are "putting aside the past."
June 16, 2010— -- More than a year after they split up, Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol Palin said she and ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston have begun a new chapter of cooperation.
"I am doing my best to raise a happy, active and healthy boy," Bristol Palin told "Good Morning America" exclusively, referring to 1-year-old Tripp -- the baby she conceived with Johnston. "I believe that wherever possible, if the parents can cooperate and co-parent in a positive way, the child will benefit. Levi and I are turning a new page here as co-parents to this wonderful boy and putting aside the past because doing so is in Tripp's best interest."
A recent report by US Weekly went further, however, claiming the couple was "back together," citing an unnamed source close to Bristol Palin.
"Now that Mama Palin [Sarah Palin] is out of the picture and Bristol is on her own in Anchorage, they spend more time together than most people think... Levi even stays overnight," the source said, possibly referring to Bristol Palin living in a condominium separate from the Palin home. "I even think they are back together."
Palin and Johnston split in March 2009, after they appeared together throughout Sarah Palin's 2008 vice presidential campaign. Bristol Palin's recent statements could signal a change of heart in something of a family feud that's been played out on headlines across the nation ever since.
Following the breakup, they followed different paths. While Bristol Palin went on to be a spokesperson for teen abstinence, Levi Johnston posed for Playgirl and is reportedly developing a reality show.
In last month's Harper's Bazaar, Bristol said her ex-boyfriend "is a stranger to me."
"I don't want to get into it. It's just dirty laundry," she said.
Money Making Problems for Johnston, Palins
Johnston has also criticized Sarah Palin, telling "Insider" that the former vice presidential candidate "doesn't do anything unless she gets something big from it."
Money woes put even more of a strain on the estranged young parents. In February, a judge ordered Johnston to pay child support and retroactive back payments estimated at more than $10,000 for Tripp's care following a lengthy court battle.
Neither Johnston nor Bristol Palin's representatives will confirm anything beyond the fact that the couple is spending more time together. Even that could be a victory for both sides in a long standing battle.
"He's a kid. He's misguided," Sarah Palin said in November. "I can't wait until he comes back on that right road of wanting to be part of the family and Tripp's life. It's going to be good."