'Jon & Kate Plus 8' stars Jon and Kate Gosselin announce separation

Jon & Kate Plus 8 will apparently be becoming Jon & Kate Divided Plus 8.


Monday night's heavily-hyped Jon & Kate Plus 8 broadcast featured the couple publicly announcing that they will separating and the TLC reality program stating they are "dissolving" their ten-year marriage.

"Kate and I have decided to separate," Jon said during an individual interview in which Kate wasn't present. 

"Yes, we have decided that we will separate," Kate said in her own separate interview.

Jon and Kate both seemed to intentionally avoid terming the decision a divorce, as did an on-screen title card that aired near the end of the broadcast.


"On Monday June 22, 2009, legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the ten-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin," the text stated, confirming Monday afternoon reports of a legal filing at a county courthouse near the couple's home in Wernersville, PA.

Based on the comments made during their separate interviews, it appeared as though Jon was the one who pushed for the separation.  (Unlike last month's fifth-season premiere which featured a brief side-by-side interview with Jon and Kate, Monday night's episode continued the fifth season's new individual interview format and did not feature any joint interviews with the couple.)

What do you think about Jon and Kate's separation announcement? Talk about it on Reality TV World's Jon & Kate Plus 8 message boards.

"I tried to contemplate and think about it what would be better for us and it's just not good for our kids to be arguing in front of our kids.  We can't be cordial with one another and we've decided to separate," Jon said.

"I'm not very fond of the idea, personally," Kate said. "But I know it's necessary because my goal is peace for kids and if peace needs to be brought about by this then I'm in agreeance."


According to the couple, all eight children --  8-year-old twins Cara and Mady, as well as 5-year-old sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel, and Leah -- will continue to live in the $1.1 million dollar 24-acre home the couple bought last year, with Jon and Kate also living there depending on who has custody  of them at the time.

"The kids will remain living in their house -- I've always called this their house.  I will remain here as well during my portion of having them.  Jon will also come here when it is his days and we will flip-flop that way," Kate said.  "It's going to change a lot because I'm going to have time that I have to be away from here."

"They love it here, this is their house, we bought this house for them not for us.  The security, the room, the land -- [it's] all for them," Jon said. "I won't be here every day obviously. I don't have the schedule [yet], I'll miss them a lot."

During their interviews, Jon and Kate both positioned the decision the best one for the children.

"While I know it's going to be hard for them and it's not what I wanted for them and it's very, very difficult, it is going to be the best and the most peaceful -- I'm hoping -- for them," Kate said. 


"It's a shame, I will always love [Kate] as the mother of my kids.  We not running away from them, we're just living our separate loves but coming back and being with them," Jon said.

The schedule will call for the couple to share custody during all holidays and birthdays, according to Kate.

"I think the biggest tragedy of when parents are not together is not only the everyday but also the holidays [and] I stated very boldly I will never not see my kids on a holiday," Kate said.  "So I will be able to provide peace in order to be able to be with my kids.  I can shelf my anger and my upsetness and whatever but my ultimate goal is to handle birthdays and holidays in a manner that I can always be with them."

However Jon seemed less sure of the idea during his own interview.

"I guess ultimately we would both like to be here on holidays like Christmas and stuff like that but like I said it's so fresh and new on our decision -- we've never been through it either, we don't know," he said.


Both parents said they plan to continue being part of their TLC reality show -- at least for now.

"How does the show go on -- the show must go on," Kate said.  "We've always done the show for the kids to be able to provide for them, to collect the memories for ourselves. I will continue to be here, be with the kids, do the same things I've always done with them.  I realize that Jon will probably not be a part of those, he may do his own thing."

"I'm still on the show," Jon said. "I guess we['ll] interview separately and we'll film different things -- me and the kids, her and the kids."

However similar to the holiday custody issue, Jon -- who has repeatedly expressed his increasing discomfort about the media spotlight appearing on the show has put on him -- seemed less willing to make a long-term commitment to both the show and the couple's yet-to-be-determined non-holiday "schedule."

"It's day-by-day for me, I don't know what's going to happen.  I mean I could get offered a job... and that'd change the whole schedule," Jon said. "I don't know."


Jon's comments seemed consistent with Kate's statements that she still isn't sure Jon knows what he wants.

"I don't know that he knows what he wants still.  I don't know that he knows where he's going," she said.  "I don't know if he even realizes the repercussions of the decisions he's making today -- you know. what that's going to do down the line.  I don't even know if this is what he really wants."

"It's very uncomfortable at this point because Jon has a lot of anger toward me and I would love to discuss it with him and he won't talk to me, that's the truth.  So I'm kind of lost.  He won't hold a discussion with me, he won't talk to me.  Every once in a while he hold a couple of minute conversation and I see a window into his world and that's about all."

The couple also expressed opposite opinions about their future, with Jon stating he was "hurt" but "excited" about the decision and a tearful Kate admitting she didn't want to be alone.

"I wasn't always the greatest communicator... but I do have feelings as well and I am hurt by all of this," Jon said. "I'm excited and hurt at the same time because I have a new chapter in my life.  I'm only 32 years old.  And I really don't know what's going to happen."

"I don't really want to be alone. I don't want to do this alone, but it's required and I've got to do it," Kate said.  "[I'm worried about] the label that we've failed, how that will affect our kids, how they'll be another statistic. How they'll be the kids looking back saying 'My parents split up when I was fill-in-the-blank age.'"


"I've had a rough few days facing the music and facing what needs to happen and while I had a half a day where I let myself fall apart and hyperventilate and sob harder than I've ever sobbed in my life by the time I woke up the next morning -- this morning -- I had decided I just need relief now and I need to turn the page," she added.

"Maybe the only thing I can look forward to is some resolution, some peace.  We [will] hopefully better communicate.  Just some peace."

The desire for better communication seemed to be one of the few details Jon and Kate were both in agreement on.

"The most important thing will probably be communication," he said.  "You have to communicate not matter what your marital status is and we have eight kids."

During her interview, Kate also stated that she didn't feel the couple's TLC reality show was responsible for their split.

"It's the next chapter.  Not a chapter that's been brought on my our show.  Not a chapter that's been caused by our career choices at all.  I believe that it's a chapter that probably would have played out had the world been watching or not, now in hindsight looking back," Kate said.


"We haven't really known where we've been going but we've been dealing with this for a long time.  [It was] a slow progression that has not popped up [in] one day, it's not been like a secret.  We've been dealing a long time with this," she added.  "I'm tired of smiling on the outside when I'm crying on the inside.  I've been doing that for a long time."

Jon admitted he's changed but said he is proud of the development.

"I was too passive and let her rule the roost and do whatever she wanted to do.  And now I finally stood up and with my our two feet and I'm proud of myself," Jon said.

Despite their disagreements, Jon and Kate both said they haven't grown to hate each other.

"It's a fork in the road.  [Our] goals are different now.  But I don't hate him.  Never have.  Never will," Kate said.  "He's the father of my children, they're great kids.  The best."

"I don't hate Kate but, you know.  I have to do what's best for me and my kids -- them first," Jon said.   "Out of the whole thing I'm looking for friendship with Kate and we don't have that right now.  We don't have anything now, you know?  We're just like two people that happen to live here.  It's a total breakdown of everything."


Jon also used his interview to once again awkwardly rail against the media attention that has resulted from his previous -- and still continuing, obviously -- decision to allow television cameras to document his family's everyday life.

"I mean we're paparazzi [targets], both her and I, 24-7," Jon said. "It's a shame that our society has come to that.  I mean we have soldiers over in Iraq dying for our country and it's like all these people care about is what I eat for lunch.  And the interest in our relationship, that's our deal."

"It's been a hard 7-8 months.  It's been a really hard last four months," he added in an apparent reference to the infidelity allegations that have hounded him since April, when an alleged affair with 23-year-old school teacher Deanna Hummel became public in an Us Weekly cover story report in which the pair were photographed leaving a Pennsylvania club alone at 2AM.

The allegations involving Jon and Hummel resurfaced the following week when Us published a follow-up cover story report in which Deanna's brother Jason Hummel told the magazine its earlier report was correct and he could confirm the pair have been having an affair for the past few months.

Jon and Deanna have both denied they are romantically involved.






About The Author: Steven Rogers