Magazine tells Sarah Palin: Bristol is marrying Levi

Sarah Palin has learned via a celebrity magazine that her daughter Bristol is to marry the father of her child, and the Palin family's arch-enemy, Levi Johnston.

Bristol, Johnston and their son Tripp are pictured on the front cover of the latest Us Weekly, under the headline: "We're getting married!".

In their interview, Bristol explains that the couple "reconnected" while meeting to decide custody arrangements for Tripp. She says that afterwards "he texted me: 'I miss you. I love you. I want to be with you again'. I was in shock."

As for her mother's reaction to her very Christian forgiveness, Bristol says: "It is intimidating and scary just to think about what her reaction will be. Hopefully she will jump on board."

She was right to be worried, because, after Levi broke off their first engagement in January 2009, two weeks after the birth of Tripp - and two months after Sarah Palin's failed vice-presidential bid, he made a series of unhelpful statements about Palin, who many believe wants to make a presidential bid in 2012.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Johnston claimed Palin had wanted to keep Bristol’s teen pregnancy secret and adopt the child as her own – presumably because at the time she'd just been selected by Republican John McCain as his running mate for the 2008 presidential election.

Johnston, who was reportedly attempting to sell a memoir of his time in the Palin family, also claimed Palin had called her son Trig, who has Down's syndrome, "retarded".

Palin gave as good as she got, of course, criticising Johnston for his "aspiring porn" career after hearing he was to pose for Playgirl magazine as part of his efforts to carve out an acting and modelling career.

But last week, Johnston released a statement apologising for his "youthful indiscretion", which clearly now can be seen as groundwork for the Us interview: "Last year, after Bristol and I broke up, I was unhappy and a little angry. Unfortunately, against my better judgment, I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true. I have already privately apologised to Todd and Sarah. Since my statements were public, I owe it to the Palins to publicly apologise.

"So to the Palin family in general and to Sarah Palin in particular, please accept my regrets and forgive my youthful indiscretion."

On hearing the news of her daughter's engagement from the cover of Us, Palin said in a statement that has been widely interpreted as somewhat insincere: "Bristol at 19 is now a young adult. We obviously want what's best for our children. Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put into practice in our daily lives.

"We pray that, as a couple, Bristol and Levi's relationship matures into one that will allow Tripp to grow up graced with two loving parents in his life." ·