TLC’s Jon, Kate say they’re divorcing

By Frazier Moore | June 23, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK — Celebrity parents Jon and Kate Gosselin say they plan to divorce.

The co-stars of “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” who are parents of sextuplets and twins, spoke of their decision to separate during Monday’s episode of the TLC reality series.

Near the end of the hourlong episode, a title card summed things up in stark terms: It said that on Monday, “legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the 10-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin.”

The network had been promising a major on-air decision from the couple, whose increasingly troubled marriage has dominated the series in recent weeks, as well as fueling a firestorm of tabloid coverage.

“We’ve been dealing a long time with this,” Kate said, speaking of her marital problems and the attendant publicity.

“It’s been a hard seven or eight months,” Jon said in one of his separate on-camera sessions. “It’s been a really hard last four months. This is the hardest episode ever.”

The beginning of the program was taken up with the delivery and assembly of prefab playhouses for the Gosselin kids. It was the sort of family activity that had formed the crux of the series as originally created.

But even during this interlude, filmed some months ago, Kate and Jon were barely speaking. Where to install the four playhouses was a source of friction between them.

The latter part of the show, filmed in recent days, focused on the couple as they discussed the painful decision they have settled on.

“I just need relief now,” Kate said. “I need to turn the page.”

Jon described his relationship with Kate as “a total breakdown of everything.”

But the show will continue, both Gosselins agreed.

“We interview separately. We’ll film different things: me and the kids, her and the kids,” Jon said.

“How does the show go on?” said Kate. “The show must go on.”