The wait is over – and so is the marriage.

With an hour-long special broadcast Monday night, Jon and Kate Gosselin, parents of eight young children and stars of the TLC reality show Jon & Kate Plus Eight, publicly announced that they will separate on the same day they filed for divorce in a Pennsylvania court.

“Over the course of this weekend, Jon’s activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect myself and our children,” Kate said in a statement Monday night. “While there are reasons why it was appropriate and necessary for me to initiate this proceeding, I do not wish to discuss those reasons at this time, in the hope that all issues will be resolved amicably between Jon and myself. As always, my first priority remains our children.”

Jon released a statement of his own, claiming his wife was the first to make a legal move. “This afternoon, Kate filed for divorce. Our kids are still my number one priority. I love them and want to make sure they stay happy, healthy and safe. My job is being the best, most supportive and loving father that I can be to my kids, and not being married to Kate doesn’t change that.”

Difficult Transition

“This will be a difficult transition for all of us,” Jon’s statement continued, “but Kate and I will work out a schedule that enables our kids to have plenty of quality time with both of us at home in Pennsylvania. In terms of my marriage, it’s no secret that the past six months or so have been very difficult for Kate and me. We are no different than other couples and parents who are facing a crossroads in their marriage. I am of course deeply saddened that we are divorcing.”

And, this may finally be one part of their life that remains private: The divorce papers – filed individually in Montgomery County, Pa., Monday – are sealed, People has learned.

The reality TV couple is not getting special consideration since it varies from county to county in Pennsylvania whether divorce records are public, and Montgomery County is one that keeps them sealed to everyone except the parties themselves and their attorneys, a clerk tells People. The only thing available for public consumption is the name of each party, the type of complaint they filed (divorce, in this case) and the date they filed.

For fans who followed the couple’s travails on screen and off, it was a busy day. PEOPLE.com first reported Monday that the couple’s marriage had officially entered the endgame, after papers were filed that afternoon to initiate a divorce. Then, on that evening’s broadcast, the couple announced they would separate.

“Yes, Kate and I have decided to separate,” Jon said at the end of an episode that initially focused on building toy houses for the their kids. “I’m not very fond of the idea, personally, but I know it’s necessary,” Kate added. “My goal is peace for the kids.”

The couple said they would keep the Pennsylvania house they share with their kids – twins Cara and Mady and sextuplets Colin, Hannah, Leah, Joel, Aaden and Alexis – and take turns living there, and take any other measures necessary to minimize the disruption in their children’s lives.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Friends and family of Jon and Kate Gosselin are slamming the couple for revealing their split on their reality show Monday.

“We’re just so heartbroken and sad about the announcement that they made — an announcement that could be so life-shattering to a young child,” Kate’s brother, Kevin Kreider, tells RadarOnline.com. “And it was used as a teaser, used to gain ratings, without any regards for my nieces and nephews. It was really hurtful. We were really sad to see that.”

Adds their onetime neighorbod, Denis: “I do feel bad for the children. Hopefully they will be civil and everything for the kids sake. He needs to get away from her and run as fast as he can. The kids are the ones who will suffer, and that is the sad part.”

Jon’s former Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School classmate Dominick Fabrizio tells Usmagazine.com: “Jon thinks ‘it is a shame what the world has come to’ with the paparazzi surrounding his $1.1-million home that he would not even have without that very public attention. Now that the charade is over, maybe the remaining 30 percent of the viewers still watching will realize no one should be taking life advice from Jon or Kate. I won’t be lining up for an autographed book anytime soon.”

Critics echo similar sentiments.

Maggie, from the Gosselins Without Pity Web site, tells Us: “I cannot see how announcing your divorce on national television and continuing with the show is in any way putting your children first. I feel sorry for the family, but the parents seem very immature and selfish and far more concerned about their own personal needs than what eight little confused children require emotionally. I can’t believe TLC will keep running the show, but they will!”

Adds the Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik: “I wonder if [viewers] feel exploited by TLC selling ads and making millions of dollars out of a show announcing a divorce that will not only leave eight kids with a shattered family — but a video record of their family coming undone that will define them for the rest of their lives. I’m done with this sick carnival side show.”

The Los Angeles Times’ Jon Caramanica sarcastically wonders if the show will be renamed Jon Plus 8 when he’s in charge, and Kate Plus 8 when she has custody.

The show will never be the same, he goes on.

“Now that the Gosselins have formally initiated divorce proceedings, never again will the show’s title trigger a sense of optimism and possibility, only a burden that was probably impossible all along,” Caramanica writes.

Source

In a new teaser video from Monday’s special hour-long episode of John & Kate Plus Eight, a teary Kate Gosselin says, “We haven’t really known where we were going but we’ve been dealing with this a long time.”

She can only be referring to the couple’s marital problems, which she and Jon addressed in the season 5 premiere of their show.

“It just got worse and worse and worse,” Jon said, “And with all the tabloids and all that, it just made it even worse.”

A promo for the show, which aired Wednesday, promised that the couple, who’ve been married for 10 years, will make an announcement.

“People think I’ve changed,” Jon says in the new teaser. “And I have changed. I’m now the person I know I am.”

“We can’t go back now. We can only go forward and that’s what we’re going to do,” Kate says. “And we’re going to learn a lot going forward and I know that we’ll all come out of this on the other side, hopefully stronger, better wiser.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Jon Gosselin returned to the home he shares with wife Kate and their eight children in Wernersville, Penn., on Friday – after a day of apartment hunting in New York City.

A source close to the situation has confirmed to People that Gosselin, 32, checked out property at Trump Place, a complex of high-rise residential buildings on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“[Jon] has been going back and forth to New York a lot” a source tells People. The search for real estate (first reported on Gawker.com) comes in the wake of news from TLC that Monday’s episode of Jon & Kate Plus Eight – the reality show that made Jon and Kate Gosselin famous – will include a major announcement about the future of their family, fueling speculation the troubled couple may part ways.

“There’s definitely a lot of drama going on but from my understanding he’s doing fine,” the source said.

When Jon returned to the family home on Friday, he was driving a black BMW and seen smoking at the side of the residence. Kate , 34, left the home early in the day,while the kids were spotted playing in the yard, according to an eyewitness.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton aren’t getting the attention from the tabloids that they so crave. The two of them, who were once regulars on the covers, have been replaced by Jon and Kate Gosselin.

And they don’t like it one bit.

A source said, “Lindsay and Paris hate not being on the covers of weeklies. That’s why Lindsay has been causing so much havoc and pulling these antics. And why Paris had a big blow-up with Doug.”

Nice.

That explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Source

In a new promo for the June 22 episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8, embattled couple Jon & Kate Gosselin reveal that they will make a life-changing announcement on the reality show’s next episode that “will affect every member of our family.”

“A family in turmoil,” “A relationship at a crossroads,” and “Where do they go from here?” are the phrases that flash across the screen.

A voiceover by Kate Gosselin says: “Recently, we’ve made some life-changing decisions – decisions that will affect every member of our family, ones that we hope will bring each of us some peace.”

The special one-hour episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 will air on TLC on Monday at 9 p.m. (EST/PST).

Below is the article that was sent to me from In Touch Weekly… I didn’t write this, this is their take on the situation.  Personally, I don’t think that spanking her daughter should fall under the “losing control” category, but that’s just me. I know there’s a lot of debate over spanking these days, but I think it’s really sad this made the cover of the magazine.

Can you imagine having to spank your child, and having paparazzi there to catch it? That’s terrible! I know Kate’s not a saint, but man I feel for her. She can’t go right in the public’s eye. Everything she does makes the front page of the tabloids.

On camera, TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin tries to portray herself as a supermom who can handle taking care of 8-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets. These exclusive new photographs show that Kate’s composed demeanor may just be a facade. Behind the scenes, she seems to be unraveling. Around 11 a.m. on June 13, a witness spotted Kate, 34, and the children playing outside of their Reading, Pa., home. When Leah, one of the sextuplets, started blowing a whistle loudly, Kate told her to stop because she was on the phone. But as soon as Leah blew on the whistle again, Kate “seemed to lose her temper” and said, “Did you not hear me?” Then she stormed over to her daughter, grabbed her and hit her. “The girl was screaming and crying,” the witness adds. “Kate just pushed her away and walked off with her coffee. Her older sisters were trying to make Leah feel better.”

For years, spanking has been one of the most controversial issues in parenting. Most childcare experts now agree that hitting is not an effective form of discipline. Although spanking is not against the law, Jordan Riak (who does not treat the Gosselins), executive director of Project NoSpank, who has studied the effects of physical punishment on children for more than 30 years, believes it should be. “Spanking can be child abuse,” he tells In Touch. “It has many long-term, lasting effects. It damages brain development in children under 7 and can lead to poor life decisions down the line. It can cause behavior problems, health problems and issues managing emotions.” But in a public statement, Kate shows no remorse for the incident, saying how she disciplines her children in public or private is her decision.

Subscribe to In Touch!