Kate: Marriage Is "Irretrievably Broken"
Reality Star Says She's Willing To Negotiate A "Fair And Reasonable" Settlement
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Reality TV stars, Jon Gosselin, right, and his wife Kate Gosselin, from the TLC series, "Jon & Kate Plus 8," are shown in Hawaii. (AP Photo/TLC, Mark Arbeit)
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Photo Essay The Gosselin Family Jon and Kate have an adorable brood and TV stardom, but the couple has now filed for divorce
The star of TLC's reality show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" filed for a no-fault divorce Monday in Montgomery County Court in Pennsylvania. She said in papers that she's willing to "negotiate a fair and reasonable" settlement with her husband of 10 years.
The divorce filing was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Lawyers for the couple said it contains boilerplate language common to all no-fault divorce petitions filed in Pennsylvania.
The TV series follows Jon and Kate Gosselin as they raise their eight young children, including 8-year-old twins and sextuplets who just turned 5.
Monday night's show, in which the couple announced their separation and divorce, drew a record audience of 10.6 million viewers.
Attorneys for both Jon and Kate Gosselin said Tuesday that the couple lived together on their Berks County compound until recently.
"They have been living 'separate and apart' just within the last week or two," said Jon's attorney, Charles Meyer, using a term from the divorce petition.
The court document does not explain what led to the split. But in a statement released to the media, Kate asserted that "Jon's activities" over the weekend had left her "no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children." She did not elaborate. Both Jon and Kate deny tabloid accusations that they cheated on each other.
"To be honest, I was hurt by Kate's statement about the divorce," Jon countered Tuesday in his own release. "I have always done everything I can to protect our family. This weekend, I was home with the kids for four days, just being a dad. No nannies, just the kids and me."
He added that while "emotions are running high for both of us right now," he hopes to "resolve things amicably."
Adding to the strain, Pennsylvania's Labor Department opened an investigation into whether the show's production is complying with state child labor laws. TLC has said it "fully complies" with state laws and regulations.
Mickey Sherman, a defense lawyer, told CBS News correspondent Terrell Brown, "When you factor in that you've got two TV stars, residuals, eight kids, and enormous amounts of money being in jeopardy, it’s a mess."
The couple plan to spend equal time with their children at the $1.1 million house they moved into last year, with Kate staying elsewhere when he has custody, and Jon making other living arrangements when it's her turn, according to the statement.
Kate's lawyer, Cheryl Young, said Tuesday that the couple has already started negotiating the terms of the divorce.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."





we're all interested in strangers' misfortunes, unwilling to get out and help ...
disposable crap.
When you have kids, divorce shouldn't be easy - neither of them have even the remotest notion of what they are about to lose by giving their kids only one parent at home at a time.
How long does it take to put one of these episodes into production? Surely more than the day or so between "Jon's activities" and the time that it aired on Monday night with the message that legal proceedings were initiated.
She knew for at least a few days that she was planning on having those papers filed on Monday.
But she insists that "the show must go on." (Really? Even if it's not good for the kids in the long-run? That pretty much says it all.)
Add to that the fact that they went through the phony marriage vow renewals in Hawaii (nice all-expenses-paid vacation, courtesy of TLC).
And her sad assertion that everything she does is to do "what's best for the kids". (Of course she's never wrong about anything--how insufferably arrogant and narcissistic.)
Kate, here's a hint: Stop being an obsessive-compulsive control freak and learn to treat your partner with respect. Learn to compromise and as Jon once said "get the stick out."
The sky won't come crashing down if there are crumbs on the floor or the kids aren't dressed in cute little matchy-matchy spotless outfits. But it will crash (and has) when you are so rigid, controlling and rude that you end up alienating everyone around you.
THAT is most definitely NOT "what's best for the kids". For their sake, get some seriously overdue therapy, give up the show and go back to nursing.
- by Yeah-Me June 23, 2009 7:29 PM EDT
- "How does the show go on?" said Kate. "The show MUST go on!"
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See all 12 CommentsO.o?
Oh yesss... the show must really go on. God forbid you try earning your own money, and not using your children to fatten your wallet.