Money certainly talks. Our sources estimate Us Weekly paid $100,000 to Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston for the story on their engagement. The cash not only bought an exclusive interview with the couple, but also screwed competitor People. The single mom gave interviews to both magazines, but didn’t tell People about the engagement or that they’d hidden their reconciliation from Sarah Palin.
Bristol lied to People: “We’re not totally back together, but I’m not ruling it out . . . I don’t want to get into what’s in store for our future because, who knows?” But Us Weekly knew. Bristol hid her left hand in the People photo shoot, though proudly revealed her ring to Us Weekly. An Us Weekly rep said, “We were approached by Bristol and Levi to break the news, and we didn’t pay $100,000.”