Bristol and Levi are Engaged...Again

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
esterday, news that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged (again) hit the cover of US Weekly and the 7:00 hour of NBC’s Today Show. The shocking news of the day was that their engagement was kept hidden from Bristol’s mom and dad, Sarah and Todd Palin – who found out, along with America, when the story broke on the Today Show. What the news should have focused on was how rare it is for two teen parents to get married. Here are the facts as noted by the :

• 8 out of 10 fathers don’t ever marry the teen mother of their child. 
• Despite high expectations for marriage, fewer than 8% of teen mothers marry their baby’s father within one year of the birth of their child. 
• Teenagers who have a non-marital birth are also significantly less likely to be married by the age of 35 than those who do not have babies as teens. 
• Marriage among teens is rare – in 2002 only 2.5% of teens had ever been married, compared to 11% in 1975. 
• Teen marriages are twice as likely to fail as marriages in which the woman is at least 25 years old.

So while I wish Bristol, Levi and their adorable son Tripp all the best, their “teen” marriage is far from the reality most teen parents will face.

written by: Cayci Banks, Director of Communications, SC Campaign
contact Cayci: cbanks@teenpregnancysc.org