As Monday night's Jon & Kate Plus 8 broadcast suggested, Jon Gosselin was apparently the driving force behind his recent separation from his wife.
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Kate Gosselin claims her husband had wanted to separate for a long time and encouraged her to follow his lead and get a lawyer -- a step she claims she never would have taken on her own, according to a cover story interview in People magazine's new issue.
"I curled up in a ball and I sobbed. I couldn't breathe; I was hyperventilating," Kate told People, according to a Wednesday morning Good Morning America segment about the magazine's interview, which will hit newsstands Friday.
"I was scaring people who were calling to check on me because I couldn't even talk."
Kate filed for a no-fault divorce in Montgomery County Court outside Philadelphia on Monday, the same day that Jon & Kate Plus 8's heavily-hyped broadcast featured the Gosselins publicly announcing that they are separating.
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According to the court filing, Kate stated her marriage to Jon is "irretrievably broken."
"They don't hate each other, but I think Jon especially dislikes Kate at this point," People managing deputy editor Peter Castro told Good Morning America. "He did not want any part of counseling; he wanted out of this marriage. He was a man who was visibly miserable."
While Kate said Jon had been asking for a separation for quite some time, she added it took her a little while for it to set in.
"I remember just looking at him and thinking, 'I wouldn't choose to marry that exact person right now so why am I here?'" she told People.
Although the reality show didn't film any footage featuring Jon and Kate telling their children about the separation, Kate confirmed the couple have told their children -- 8-year-old twins Mady and Cara and their 5-year-old sextuplets -- about the decision.
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"Mady was something. She said, 'I can't say this comes as much of a surprise. I could've guessed,'" Kate told People. "But Cara just crumpled into tears. She was crying, and I was holding her in my arms like a baby."
In addition, Kate also stated she explained Jon's new living arrangements to the children.
"[I said] Daddy's not going to live here sometimes, but he'll come back half the time and we'll trade on and off," she told People.
Castro described Jon & Kate Plus 8 as a "compelling wreckage" and "the portrait of an American family crumbling," so he's not surprised Monday night's broadcast averaged more than 10 million total viewers.
"It's real reality television," he told Good Morning America.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio