Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Jon Gosselin is denying his soon-to-be ex-wife Kate's previous claims that he had been the one pushing for a separation and was the driving force behind the couple's June 22 divorce filing.

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"Many people think that everything moved too fast, that I was out partying too quickly.  But Kate gave up on the marriage last October and the divorce will be finalized by September 30," Gosselin told In Touch Weekly in cover story interview published in the magazine's August 17 issue.

"October of last year -- that's when all of this happened," Gosselin told In Touch.  "Kate basically came to me out of the blue and said 'I am done.  You are going to live your life, and I am going to live my life.'  I was like 'What?' I didn't really know what was going on.  When she said that, I was really upset and nervous."

According to Gosselin, he was hesitant to end the marriage and wanted to attempt to resolve the couple's issues.

"I think she initiated the split because she wanted a career.  Maybe I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, and she was going to move on regardless.  I said 'Are you sure about this?'" he told In Touch.  "I asked 'What do I have to do to mend the relationship?'"

Gosselin told In Touch that he wanted the couple to go see a therapist together however Kate rejected the idea.

"In December, I went to therapy.  I asked Kate to come but she didn't want to.  She said, 'If you have a problem, go fix it," he said.

Although he had claimed to be part of "a loving family and couple" when the initial reports the couple's marriage was on the rocks had first surfaced in March, Gosselin now says that he and Kate had actually begun living "separate lives" two months earlier.

"We went to Utah on January 1. On January 12, she flew back with security and I stayed.  That's when I started to just hang out and meet people, and feel free," Gosselin told In Touch.  "When I came back on the 17th, Kate and I weren't talking.  So I just said 'I'm moving out of the house,' and that was it."

During the interview, Gosselin also insisted reports that he isn't spending much time with the couple's eighth children anymore aren't accurate.

"[It's] because it looks like I abandoned my kids.  Kate is grabbing for film time with TLC.  We share custody, so I do as much as she does," he told In Touch.  "But if it's not being filmed, people don't know.  We only film for two hours a day -- I'd rather go home and not film with my kids than film with them... I haven't changed.  I am a great father."

"I'm there just as much as Kate is," he added.  "She just films more."

Although it is directly responsible for his family's new-found wealth, Gosselin also suggested he doesn't feel any particular loyalty to Jon & Kate Plus 8.

"I'll do the show until something better comes up," Gosselin told In Touch.  "But I don't want it to end because that is my job.  That's my financial means -- we have a lot of stuff to pay for, like education.  I'm sure there are things that are more financially beneficial.  If I leave the show, then I leave the show -- that's how it is."

Those "things" may include a new reality show with Michael Lohan, the estranged father of troubled actress Lindsay Lohan.

"I'm not allowed to discuss it, " Gosselin told In Touch.

In Touch paid Gosselin $40,000 for the three-hour interview, Us Weekly reported in its own August 17 issue.


About The Author: Steven Rogers

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