Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston: Life in a Fishbowl

Growing up is hard to do -- let alone in the national spotlight. Just ask Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, who might as well be the stars of "The Not-So-Secret Lives of American Teenagers."

The two teens thrust into the public eye by Sarah Palin's 2008 vice presidential bid are showing signs of progress in the growing-up area lately.

Perhaps the adults -- and younger siblings -- around them might get a few clues from Levi and Bristol's recent behavior.

This week, Johnston issued a statement apologizing to the Palin family via People magazine. Bristol offered her own statement on life as a single mom, the same week she made her acting debut.

The two likely would have been just another small-town teen pregnancy story -- much like the high school kids portrayed on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," where Bristol appeared for a one-minute segment Monday.

But GOP presidential candidate John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate -- knowing that her teenage daughter was pregnant. When the story broke between Palin's introduction and the Republican National Convention, Johnston was flown to the convention with the rest of the family, all dressed up with Bristol's name tattooed on his ring finger.

The Alaska governor insisted the two would be married later in the year. When baby Tripp Johnston was born in late December, the two said they'd wed in 2009.

Instead, they split in March 2009, and Levi Johnston took his disgruntlement with the Palin family on the road. He groused about the family on "The Tyra Banks Show," he told Larry King he'd consider going to court to get access to his son, he dished in Vanity Fair and posed nude for Playgirl.

Sarah Palin took her own media shots at her first grandchild's father: "Those who would sell their body for money reflect a desperate need for attention."

But last month came reports that Johnston and Bristol Palin were on friendly terms again.

And Tuesday came Johnston's apology to the Palins: "Unfortunately, against my better judgment, I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true. I have already privately apologized to Todd and Sarah. Since my statements were public, I owe it to the Palins to publicly apologize."

Bristol offered this statement to People: "Part of co-parenting is creating healthy and honest relationships between the parents. Tripp one day needs to know the truth and needs to know that even if a mistake is made the honorable thing to do is to own up to it."

Well, Tripp one day will get to see video replays of his mom making a cameo in ABC Family's teen soap "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Click play below to watch a clip:


In episode 5 of the third season, rumors abound that one teen is pregnant with her second child, while another young woman contemplates abortion. (Oh, and a Down syndrome character accidentally eats a marijuana brownie, but that's just a side plot.)

Palin gets her minute of dialogue about 36 minutes into the 44-minute show, where she stops by a New York City dorm room to check in on her "buddy" at a music program. That character, Amy, is being gossiped about as potentially pregnant a second time but is actually starting a special music program, which Palin reveals is aimed at teen moms.

"We're all teen moms and musicians," Palin tells Amy, then cracks wise: "You're the world's greatest French horn player. And I'm Yo-Yo Ma."

Palin apparently doesn't have plans for an acting career, though she is available on the public speaking circuit. In a short video on the show's website, she said she wanted to appear because of the impact the program has on teens and pregnancy.

"The more it's talked about the more it's prevented," she said. "My episode, I probably won't have much of an impact. But the show itself is great in that it does open up a dialogue between parents and teens."

Bristol and Levi may be finding a way to resolve their differences, but not so much for his younger sister, Mercede Johnston.

She's been vocal about the Palin family on her blog in the past month, most recently writing a long post Wednesday titled "No I will NOT sit down and shut up!"

Mercede has answered reader questions about the Palin family, criticized Bristol Palin's posts on a Facebook page under a pseudonym and aired a variety of general complaints on her blog. She's asked for contributions via PayPal, too.

So goes the Wasilla, Alaska, version of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," though all has been relatively silent on the Palin parent front, with only a couple of tweets and no Facebook edicts from Sarah for nearly a week.

This real-life soap, however, is likely to have a long run. And as they age, the teenage characters are likely to wonder what their lives would be like had they been left in a more anonymous world, far from the stage of celebrity politics.