Regardless of whether there are any alleged extramarital activities involved, Jon and Kate Gosselin's marriage is clearly on the rocks.

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Monday night's broadcast of Jon & Kate Plus 8's fifth-season premiere showed a couple that appeared to be deeply divided and openly suggesting that they may be heading for divorce. 

TLC had heavily promoted Monday night's Jon & Kate Plus 8 season premiere as featuring the couple's first side-by-side interview since new reports that Jon allegedly had an affair with a 23-year-old schoolteacher surfaced late last month.

Although they appeared side-by-side for a brief portion of their interviews, the vast majority of Jon and Kate's interviews were conducted separately and were structured around footage of their sextuplets' fifth birthday party earlier this month. 

The premiere began with Kate stating Jon had decided he "needed a weekend off" and explaining she was planning the children's party alone.  Jon later returned in time for the party, however he arrived at it separately and the couple appeared to avoid each other and barely speak during the celebration.

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"I remember thinking 'This possibly could be, maybe, I don't know, our last family picture,' so I knew it was important to do," Kate said about a family photo she had taken during the party in one of her solo interviews.

"It was thinking back five years ago and realizing parents of multiples have like triple the divorce rate and thinking we were going to beat that. But I don't know if I can say that anymore," she added as she wiped back tears.  "Very swiftly we turned into two very different people and it's just hard.  I've tried for six months to figure out what the problem is or remedy the problem or... I don't know.  It's so complicated and so it's just difficult.  But generally speaking we -- physically if nothing else -- putted it off."

"They just got to have a normal birthday party.  I think it was good for them to see their mom and dad together in one place, I mean you know it's been tough right now," Jon said during one of his own interviews. 

"But, I don't know, like we said, we always love our kids and we will come together for our kids.  Regardless of our relationship... we just have to make a plan and decide jointly what we're going to do and that's really between me and Kate.  There's good times and bad times and nothing's perfect and as long as our kids are safe and happy here they'll be well taken care of and loved and that's really our business."

"It's hard to picture things in the future just because we're going two different directions right now," Jon added later.  "It doesn't mean our kids are going different directions."

Neither Jon or Kate seemed interested in making physical contact -- or even eye contact -- with each other during their brief joint interview.

"I wish I knew," Kate answered when an offscreen Jon & Kate Plus 8 producer asked the couple the current status of their relationship.

"I don't know, I really don't know," Jon said.

"I can absolutely say that I am wholeheartedly in everything that I'm doing for the kids," Kate added.  "I wake up because of the kids, I breathe because of my kids, I work because of my kids, I work harder because of my kids.  I'm committed to not letting any of this harm them.  I will do my best to be as positive as possible for my kids."

"I'm for my kids too, I mean I take them to school and take care of them.  I'm here every day," Jon replied without glancing at Kate.  "I quit my job two years ago so that I could stay home with the kids [and] also so that Kate could go and work and do her speaking engagements and book stuff, so I'm here for my kids too."

During their individual interviews, Jon and Kate both indicated that Jon's frustration that Jon & Kate Plus 8 has become the couple's careers and Kate's frequent traveling has left him the children's primary caretaker have been the main causes of the couple's problems.

"This is a different kind of career because this is your life and your career.  In no other place does that exist," Jon said.  "We originally did the show to document our kids lives and I mean it's become a business just like anything else."

"I worked my whole life and to be home -- I love being home with my kids, don't get me wrong," he added.   "I guess you always think the grass is greener, but it's not what I chose, you know, it was kind of chosen for me.  And you know I did it because I love my kids and I love my family and that's what it is... My mom always said life's about choices and it is."

"I've been dealing with this for probably six months now, and maybe even longer if I was being really honest," Kate said during her interview.  "Slowly I've just seen him almost resent the duties.  It's a lot to take care of eight kids.  I know he's here a lot -- I'm traveling a lot, he is here a lot. I get that it's a long, frustrating job but he does have help so he's not doing it alone at this point."

"So he's angry with me -- I think that he's home and I'm not.  Yet he doesn't really feel great about me so he wants me to travel.  Like, it's so involved I almost can't put it into words. And I don't know what the solution is, I don't think he knows what the solution is."

Although they willfully opened their family's life up to the television cameras that now reportedly net them an estimated $50,000 or more per Jon & Kate Plus 8 episode, Jon and Kate both suggested that they didn't fully anticipate the media interest that would result from their decision.

"The media storm stuff, I hate the media storm stuff. I did not sign up for the public scrutiny of everything, and neither did Kate," Jon said during a solo interview.  "I mean, people are getting paid off just to say whatever they want to say. I mean, if I paid you $20,000, who knows what you'd say. I mean I have paparazzi standing outside my house, 24/7."

"Did I ever think I'd see myself on the front of a tabloid or see those words or read those words that are there?  No, it kills me," Kate said during an individual interview.  "Whether it's true or false doesn't matter, it effects every part of your life and it takes it up a notch and it, you know, effects your security and it effects your privacy and it effects everything."

"We had a lot of conversations prior to all of this erratic behavior that doesn't remind me of the Jon that I know," Kate said.  "All of the sudden -- which I don't understand, because he was always the one who was good with fans and talking to people and whatever -- and all of the sudden he doesn't like that anymore and he doesn't like being in the limelight.  I think he's really just wanting to bust out of here and try to make it all go away.  Which again, newsflash, it's not going to."

While not addressing any specific allegation, Jon also used to his Jon & Kate Plus 8 interviews to once again deny he's ever cheated on Kate.

"People might say I brought it upon me, fine.  Let 'em say I brought it upon myself," Jon said.  "But that was just me and my personality and me doing nothing but being innocent and hanging out. I never cheated on Kate, and you know, that's the way it is.  I don't care who believes me, I know what I know and she only knows what she knows. I just don't think in the recent months I've thought clearly enough.  And I take full blame, I mean I just didn't think it would escalate into what it's become."

In addition to using her own interview to make it clear that Jon's behavior has upset her, Kate also expressed her frustration -- without mentioning the reports specifically -- that his behavior also led to subsequent reports which stated she hasn't been home much recently and suggested she may also behaving an affair with the family bodyguard that accompanies her when she travels.

"I think the thing that makes me the maddest is that Jon made some mistakes and he was out and whatever and okay, so that makes people question him.  [But] I'm going what I'm supposed to be doing -- I'm working and traveling, yes I take security with me, yes I travel here, there and everywhere because that's my job -- and I'll be darned if they are going to take me down with that," Kate said. "I mean just the allegations make me furious and I need to change the subject because it makes me very mad."

"Have I been hard on him over the last almost 10 years that we've been married? Absolutely," Kate said about Jon later in her interview. "I would never deny that, I mean you have it on tape.  I've been really hard on him.  I've always regretted it." 

"Have I pushed him to this?  I don't think I have because I fell like everyone is responsible for their own actions," Kate continued. "I could be reacting like a real idiot right now.  I could be saying 'I don't want to see you again, disappear, fall off the face of the Earth.'"

"But I am trying to look at this from a 'Let's handle this constructively in the best way possible' [manner] and that is very difficult but I'm trying.  I have a lot of anger.  I always say that so blandly but I just have a lot of anger because this is not where we were supposed to be.  This is not what I envisioned for us.  Not what I envisioned for him.  He's made some very poor decisions and you know, we all have to live with them."

Neither Jon or Kate seemed able to directly answer a Jon & Kate Plus 8 producer's question about what the future holds for their relationship.

"I can only speak for myself, I am here," Kate answered.  "I am here every minute that working doesn't require me to be away. So I can't speak for anyone but myself."

"I'm here for my kids," Jon added.
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