Palin's ex stars as nude coverboy

Playgirl

BARING ALL: Levi Johnston is a Playgirl cover boy and centrefold.

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The 19-year-old former fiance of Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol has posed nude for the cover of Playgirl.

Levi Johnston - a former cairbou hunter who has also featured in an advert for nuts - fathered a son with Bristol, 19, but the couple broke up in December after baby Tripp was born.

The relationship between him and the Palins since then has often been strained, mostly over visitation issues.

His choice of new career is likely to further embarrass Ms Palin, who says she hasn't ruled out running for office again.

Last October. Johnston's lawyer said his client was getting prepared for the close-up by training three hours a day, six nights a week at an Anchorage gym with a local body builder.

Naked pictures of him have appeared on Playgirl's website but now he has been picked to be the coverboy for the February 22 issue under the headline "Levi Johnston Goes Rogue".

In the article, accompanied by a photo spread in which Johnston has a strategically placed hand, he discusses his turbulent relationship with the Palins.

Just after Senator John McCain chose Palin as his running mate in August 2008, Johnston was thrust into the national spotlight when Palin abruptly announced her unwed daughter was pregnant and the couple would marry.

- © Fairfax NZ News