Jon Gosselin is speaking about ex Kate’s recent statement about their divorce.

After filing papers Monday, Kate told The Associated Press: “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.” She added that “it was appropriate and necessary” for her to initiate this proceeding but refused to discuss why.

In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, Jon says:

“Yesterday, Kate filed for divorce. Our kids are still my No. 1 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. This will be a difficult transition for all of us, 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.

“I am deeply saddened that we are divorcing, and also hurt by the statement Kate made last night about the divorce. I have always done everything I can to protect our family.

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“The one thing I do agree with in Kate’s statement is her desire to resolve things amicably. Of course emotions are running high for both of us right now, but for the sake of our children and our family’s privacy, I hope that we can both limit our public comments about the legal proceedings going forward.”

Before ending his statement, Jon said his Father’s Day last weekend was one of his best ones yet because, “I was home with the kids for four days, just being a dad. No nannies, just the kids and me. In fact, with the exception of Aaden’s visit to the doctor, I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend Fathers Day weekend.”

In divorce papers filed Monday – the same day they announced the split to record ratings on their TLC show – Kate said her marriage to Jon is “irretrievably broken.”

While filing for a no-fault divorce in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Court, she also said she is willing to “negotiate a fair and reasonable” settlement with him.

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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.

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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.

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Production has been halted on Jon & Kate Plus 8 following the Gosselins’ Monday revelation they’re splitting up, the network has announced.

TLC says next Monday’s episode will feature a clip package with some new footage, but the next all-new episode won’t air until August 3, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Times says the decision came from the network — not the family.

Only six episodes of the 40-episode season have aired. Through tears on Monday’s show, Kate declared “the show must go on!”

Jon & Kate Plus 8 has become TLC’s highest-rated show. Its May premiere drew in 9.8-million viewers, a record for the network.

The Times says TLC does not have enough footage to put together new episodes because of the Gosselins’ marital turmoil, as documented by Us Weekly.

Episodes that were televised this season were often shot last-minute and even completed on the day of airing.

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Ten days after their 10th wedding anniversary, Jon and Kate Gosselin announced on their hit TLC reality show that they are splitting. Legal proceedings to dissolve their marriage began Monday.

“Kate and I have decided to separate,” a candid Jon announced, calling Monday’s episode his “hardest” show ever. “It’s just not good for us to be arguing in front of our kids. … We can’t be cordial with one another.”

While Kate said she is “not fond of the idea,” she knows it is “necessary.”

She said she will remain at their $1.1 million home in Reading, Pa., and “Jon will also come here when it is his days, and we will flip-flop that way.”

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Though she said this is not what she wants for their kids, “My goal is peace.” With tears in her eyes, she added, “If peace needs to be brought about by this, then I’m in agreement.”

Jon called the split “a shame,” adding, “I will always love her as the mother of my kids.”

“We’re not running away from them,” he said of their kids. “We’re just living our separate lives and coming back and being with them.”

Kate said she is trying to stay positive.

“There’s a lot of happiness in the past,” she said. “I hope that happiness continues. … You can find happiness if you look hard enough in any situation.”

As for the future of the show, they will continue to interview separately, as they have done so far this season. Jon – who has been eyeing apartments in New York City – said he doesn’t know if he’ll remain on the show, as he could get a new job. (“I’m only 32 years old,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.” He also said he is “excited” about starting a new chapter in his life.)LOTS MORE AFTER THE JUMP! (more…)

After months of speculation, the 10-year marriage of Jon & Kate Plus Eight’s stars Kate and Jon Gosselin appears to be coming to an end.

Documents to initiate a legal split were filed at the Bucks County Courthouse in Reading, Pa., Monday afternoon.

Fans who have watched the couple’s popular TLC show – or read the voluminous coverage of the Gosselin marriage in the press – will hardly be surprised: The duo had long maintained a tense relationship, with Jon recently telling PEOPLE he wanted a less high-profile life, while Kate appeared to remain committed to their TV career.

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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