Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston Split Up: CONFIRMED

***UPDATE 8:44PM*** The AP has confirmed that Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin have broken up:

* * * * *

WASILLA, Alaska -- Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, the teenage daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, have broken off their engagement, he said Wednesday, about 2 1/2 months after the couple had a baby. Johnston, 19, told The Associated Press that he and 18-year-old Bristol Palin mutually decided "a while ago" to end their relationship. He declined to elaborate as he stood outside his family's home in Wasilla, about 40 miles north of Anchorage.

He also said some details of the breakup, rumors of which had been swirling on the Internet, were inaccurate.

Bristol Palin said in a statement that she was devastated about a report on Star magazine's Web site that quoted Levi's sister, Mercede, as saying Bristol "makes it nearly impossible" to visit the teenagers' infant son, Tripp. The baby was born Dec. 27.

"Unfortunately, my family has seen many people say and do many things to `cash in' on the Palin name," said the statement, which was issued through the governor's political action committee. "Sometimes that greed clouds good judgment and the truth."

SarahPAC spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton did not immediately respond to calls seeking further information. The governor's spokesman, Bill McAllister, declined comment.

Sarah Palin revealed her daughter's pregnancy just days after being named John McCain's running mate on the Republican presidential ticket. She had said in December that her daughter and Johnston "are committed to accomplish what millions of other young parents have accomplished, to provide a loving and secure environment for their child."

In an interview that aired on Fox News last month, Bristol Palin said her fiance saw the baby every day and described him as a "hands-on" dad.

Johnston and Palin had said they were considering a summer wedding.

"We both love each other," he told the AP in October. "We both want to marry each other. And that's what we are going to do."

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EARLIER:

Gov. Sarah Palin's office on Wednesday refused to comment on a report that Palin's daughter Bristol Palin had broken off her engagement with fiancé Levi Johnston.

According to Star magazine, 18-year-old Bristol Palin and Johnston are no longer together:

Now's Levi's sister, Mercede is telling all exclusively to Star and the picture she paints of life in Wasilla, Alaska is not a pretty one. Bristol, 18, has virtually cut Levi out of the life of their two-month-old son Tripp.

"Levi tries to visit Tripp every single day, but Bristol makes it nearly impossible. She tells him he can't take the baby to our house because she doesn't want him around 'white trash'!" Bristol won't even allow him to watch the baby for a few hours -- unless he's babysitting!

Mercede also told Star: "Bristol's just crazy. That's the nicest way I can put it. She and Levi actually broke up a while ago!"

"That's not state business," Abbey Bulawa, an aide to Gov. Palin, told the Huffington Post. "We don't comment on the governor's children."

In an interview last month with FOX's Greta Van Susteren, Bristol said Levi is "a hands-on dad" who sees his son every day. She also said they planned to get married once they were done with school.

Palin's son Tripp was born on December 29, 2008.

A breakup would be additionally unfortunate for Levi as he has "Bristol" tattooed on his ring finger.

Comments

[hadeedg]

12:18 AM on 04/08/2009

Why do people keep saying that Palin dragged her kids out onto the national stage? Don't all politicians introduce their families to the country at some point. < a href=" http://www.airmattressdeals.com " > air mattress < / a >

[skoda1]

08:28 PM on 03/17/2009

Why is this news???
I don't relish in the pain and confusion created when couples breakup...
I'd like to think others could actually understand this perspective.

[hootie1fan]

06:36 PM on 03/15/2009

Give up the hypocricy and call a baby daddy a baby daddy

[peebles]

04:48 PM on 03/15/2009

Why do people keep saying that Palin dragged her kids out onto the national stage? Don't all politicians introduce their families to the country at some point. Don't we know and see a lot of the Obama family?
It was going to be found out eventually that the kid was pregnant and the Palin's handled it the best they could given the situation they were in. Let's all stop throwing stones at glass houses!

[skoda1]

08:57 PM on 03/17/2009

I don't care if it is one of Palin's kids or Obama's, families are off limits. Why are people reporting on and criticizing the kids of these politicians??? Is Levi Johston running for office??? no... Obama and Palin did not drag their kids on to the political stage. The media and the need for money and ratings dragged the kids onto the stage... Soooo, why should I or anyone else care about their private lives??? Seriously...

[sherifffruitfly]

05:40 AM on 03/15/2009

Who?

[klastos]

01:46 AM on 03/15/2009

While I'm no fan of the Palins, and a social liberal who believes in comprehensive sex ed, freedom of choice, and a firm separation of church and state(something that despite my strong pro-second amendment views turns me away from the GOP everytime), this isn't news worthy.

Sarah Palin is despicable for putting her daughter through this situation, yes. Furthermore it's my belief that a man in her position with a pregnant teenage daughter, a special needs child, etc. shouldn't have run for federal office, let alone the mother of said special needs child. That being said, Bristol Palin shouldn't be at the attention of any in the news media. It's crass, mean and utterly out of touch with the things that should be reported like the financial markets, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the daily revelations of the illegal and truly scary legal memos still coming to light from the Bush admin.

[Winthorpe]

11:39 AM on 03/15/2009

She asked Faux News to interview her... because she didn't want the attention of the news media?

[brabra]

12:19 AM on 03/15/2009

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ROTFLMAO

[rjohn826771]

11:01 PM on 03/14/2009

I am truly happy that this young girl will be free. I hope that she goes to college and prepares herself to be well employed so that she can take care of her child. Perhaps when she is more mature, she will find someone who is worthy of being her husband and a father to her child. I have been quite disturbed that her mother, Sarah Palin would consider it okay to rush her daughter into a "shotgun" wedding to please the idiots of the Republican Party.

I hope that Bristol gets out of Alaska as soon as possible and as far away from her mother as she can. Go Kristol. God Love You.

[thrugreeneyez]

05:42 PM on 03/14/2009

What a surprise!!! I am sooooooo shocked that their relationship didn't last.

(sarcastically shaking my head)

[Rictracee]

03:42 PM on 03/14/2009

if Levi is smart he needs to do a "tell all " book.. give up the good.. its evey man for himself at this point.

[HGMercury]

07:04 PM on 03/14/2009

Is there any doubt that there will be a tell all book? I just hope it's very juicy. The Palins are a very deserving family.

[crazyinsantamonica]

03:37 PM on 03/14/2009

Just reading through this blog makes me appreciate that I am a Conservative and proud of it.

[sugarfree]

05:57 PM on 03/14/2009

So you being a Conservative make you better than everyone else, maybe you should look the word up before you become to proud. "Conservative", mean Tending to oppose,change, favoring traditiona
views and values.
A better comment for you would have been, "these two people are so young and when you become
a family at this age its very hard", he is 19 and she is 18 with their whole life ahead of them, but its
to late they have a family, and the baby come first.
This should be a lesson to all young people to stop and think before they have sex, i feel sad for
both of them. i wish them lock.

[Vieux Charles]

11:20 PM on 03/14/2009

lay off the aspertame, sugarfree

[HGMercury]

07:07 PM on 03/14/2009

Pride is one of the whatch-ma-callit sins, ain't it?

[guruglenn]

11:39 AM on 03/14/2009

What happened to the good old days when the peripheral people, in politicians lives, were controlled to the point that the rest of us thought they emerged from nirvana? What they are going through is not unlike the majority of young people nowadays.

It is not newsworthy.

Glenn Smith Author of Lotus Petal, A Parable to Help You to Overcome The Fear of Death
http://lotuspetalbook.com

[HGMercury]

11:34 AM on 03/14/2009

Quote:

'Johnston, 19, told The Associated Press that he and 18-year-old Bristol Palin mutually decided "a while ago" to end their relationship'

Could it possibly be before Sarah Palin twisted their arms into prolonging the farce so as not to harm her political aspirations?

[kurtdooley]

10:57 AM on 03/14/2009

I was really hoping this couples great small town values and devout religion views were going to get them through raising their child and marrige. O' well......must have been gods will.

[jse17]

09:55 AM on 03/14/2009

How close is their relationship or lack thereof to lines from a classic country tune favored by those that would vote for Sarah!

We are all certain that democracy is a viable form of government - correct????