Bristol Palin's ex crowdfunding custody battle

Bristol Palin. Photo / AP

Because everything surrounding Alaska's roving reality show, The Palin Family, is lived out loud and on social media, it seems only fitting that Levi Johnston, the ex-fiance of political offspring Bristol Palin, is turning to a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay for his legal bills.

Levi Johnston the former boyfriend of Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin. Photo / Facebook

Johnston first stepped into the limelight at the GOP convention eight years ago at the side of his pregnant fiancee, Bristol, the daughter of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The couple's relationship, though, was as doomed as the Republican ticket, and they soon split up.

Plenty of bad blood with the Palins followed - along with a second, brief reconciliation and engagement - and a public custody fight over the couple's son, Tripp.

All seems patched up now between Johnston and Palin, both of whom have dabbled in reality TV and are married to other people.

"The good news is that it appears the custody situation is settled," Johnston wrote on a GoFundMe page in a plea from him and his wife, Sunny, that has generated US$10,225 in its first two days.

"The bad news is that we still owe many thousands of dollars in legal fees."

Despite those allegedly buried hatchets, do we detect another dig at his ex's political family?

"Unlike some we are not able to raise money through fundraising e-mails or SuperPACS and are instead asking for your help in paying these bills and allowing us to get back to the important job of raising our family."