bristol, Gino

After winning the "crappiest girlfriend in the world" award last week for abandoning boyfriend Gino Paoletti in the middle of nowhere, Bristol Palin decides she wants him back. The reason? Not because he's a great, loving, and supportive boyfriend to her. Nope. The Life's a Tripp star wants him back because he is the only father her son has ever known. In fact, he even calls Gino "daddy."

I know, I know. I can hear the complaints now. How dare she confuse her son like that, right? Actually, I'm on Bristol's side with this one. I think she is totally justified in letting Gino be a father figure to her desperate-for-a-dad son and here's why:

  1. To say Levi Johnston is a deadbeat dad is an understatement. According to Bristol, he hasn't even called in months.
  2. Gino really loves Bristol and wants to be Tripp's dad.
  3. Women may eventually outnumber men in Alaska so she better lock it down. Just kidding ... kind of ... not really.

So let's cut Bristol some slack on this. It's not like she's had a revolving door of lovers around Tripp. As far as reality TV teen moms go, she is nowhere near the most outrageous, wild, or irresponsible. No matter what you think about the Palin family's politics, they are a loving, tight-knit family and you've gotta respect and admire that a little bit.

And Gino himself doesn't seem like such a bad guy. He loves the idea of a ready-made family and has been the most consistent man in the boy's life (aside from grandfather Todd Palin). Gino takes him dirt biking, camping, fishing -- all the things outdoorsy dads do with their outdoorsy kids. He wants to stick around. The proof? He carefully picks out the perfect promise ring for Bristol. When the salesman says, "Sounds like she's pretty lucky," he quickly shoots back, "I'm the lucky one." AWWWWWWWWW! Love it.

He pops the ring out during what is clearly only an Alaskan version of a romantic getaway. After a day of blowing up targets in the wilderness, Gino slips it on her finger while they are up in a tree bear baiting -- whatever that means. They exchange a lot of lovey-dovey words in a barely audible whisper so as not to scare away the bears, of course. As odd as the scene was, it was actually really sweet.

That said, it's far from a perfect pairing -- but whose is? They bicker too much and it's as though they don't know the meaning of "compromise." Bristol's sister Willow certainly isn't a fan of the relationship. "I hope the best for you guys but I don't think you guys should be together," she tells Gino. Bristol brushes off her criticism, though. "We have a crazy relationship but Tripp loves Gino and Tripp needs a good man in his life," she says. She's a mom who wants a good, loving role model for her son. You can't help but hope she finally has that.

Do you think Bristol and Gino will last?

 

Image via Lifetime