Jon & Kate Divorce Papers: Living 'Separate And Apart'

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Kate Gosselin says in divorce papers that her marriage to Jon is "irretrievably broken." The star of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" filed for a no-fault divorce Monday in Montgomery County Court outside Philadelphia. 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 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."

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.

Comments

[lilcho]

While it is always a sad event when a couple separates and there are children involved, this is not newsworthy!

[Artemis34]

I watched the show (often with the sound off) b/c I think the kids are cute but don't care for the parents.

Adults have to work hard to maintain their relationship and make it a priority.

Sorry, but parenthood, even to 8 is a part time job. And, by that, I mean you don't do it all your life.

So, if you give up your spouse "for the kids" you are going to find yourself with a brood that doesn't appreciate (and didn't require) that sacrifice and no spouse. Great plan.

The kids may need you more urgently sometimes because they are more helpless, but that doesn't mean they are more "important" than your spouse.

When I heard her saying things like the kids are the most important I thought "their marriage is over."

[Marilyn R]

If they moved into a duplex the kids could go back and forth easily, and the parents could have "space". Perhaps work things out.

I think that a lot of marriages could be saved if married couples lived like that . Of course, keeping finances in mind, these duplexes would need to be designed for such a purpose.

[CRA1]

No way will kate tolerate living in a duplex! She grew up poor and dispises her parents for this. She deserves to live maybe in a tralior park and should pay to do so!

[PoliticalPsychic]

That's more like someone who is a stepmom than a mom.

Only a step-parent would say the relationship is more important than the kids -- i.e. I didn't give birth to these kids - they are more like baggage to me than kids I have to take care of.

My mother had to raise us alone, because my father left four of us when we were toddlers - much like Jon & Kate. My mother always said "you're a mother first - your kids come first".

A relationship is - to ME - second to parenting.

[Yolanda Downs]

You are soooo right.

[Lulu2]

No offense...but who ARE these people? Are they important? Why?

[CrystalWacker]

It's sad how media can tear families apart...it's also sad what money does to people and what stupid decisions people make when they're in the spotlight. This may have been for a good reason in the beginning....to support their large family, but now I'm sure they're all thinking it wasn't worth it. Jon messed up pretty big. I'm just really sad for the children.
-Crystal Wacker

[milo h minderbinder]

It's sad these parents chose to exploit their kids in the first place. Sure, the media is bad too, but these people could have said no.

[Artemis34]

Just think about paying for health care for 8 kids, not to mention everything else. Must've been tough to try to figure out how to take care of everything.

[lvdragonlady]

Wish these two would just go away. Am so tired of hearing about them on every flippin station you turn on or website you go too. It is insane.

[clearthinker2008]

Call US, and the other tabloids and they will.

[PunKinPai]

Better yet, quit reading them and for you, POOF, they've gone away.

[spark19me]

blackamericaweb.com..sorry

[spark19me]

If you have not heard of Huggie Low Down..he is a comedian on the Tom Joyner Morning Show.. he spit a rhyme yesterday morning about Jon & Kate that was hilariious..go to blackamerica.com and click if you missed it..

[spark19me]

Nick & Jessica, Hulk Hogan & LInda, Brittany & Kevin, Dave & Carmen, now Jon & Kate...Reverend Run and Justine, Tori & Dean better watch it..these tv reality marriages always end in the big D..cuz one like the profit and attention, the other feels privacy stripped and life being invaded by cameras...sign of the times. i guess.

[Pamelion]

Too true!!

[Bill D Catt]

I wonder what Octomom thinks about all this? :-)

[JRsNana]

She's got it made in the shade. She doesn't have a partner.

[PoliticalPsychic]

Made in the shade? I'm sure that's what she still thinks.

Most people live in reality -- i.e. they don't pretend they're going to survive on an imaginary source of income.

Octomom became Octomom because she truly believes she can make everyone else pay for upteenth kids.

Most people choose to raise 1 to 3 kids (max) because they KNOW how expensive just one kid can be.

Most people don't treat their kids like a litter of kittens - they treat them like people who require 100% of your attention.

How the heck do you plan on giving 100% of yourself when you have umpteenth number of kids ON PURPOSE?

This is why CHOICE was such a HUGE factor when womens rights mattered.

Now it's all about having as many babies you can produce before your eggs dry up.

Ugh!

[Shzron1946]

this show started with a couple of specials on how it is to raise to sets of "multiples". At first it was very simple. But it became obvious after a time that Kate was a neurotic clean freak and Jon was less mature and a fairly liberal type of parent who wanted to see his kids have more freedom and live a life where they learned a lot through different experiences. Kate like the new experiences part but everything they did had to be clean. Jon wasn't crazy about that, though he did want to see a normal level of cleanliness where the kids were concerned. Kate was a nurse, so Jon followed her lead. When she became too judgmental, he at first spoke up, but then decided to be a gentleman and let her comments go. This would have worked if he had made a point of confronting her about that later, but apparently he didn't. So that is the track they were on. A news commentator said that Kate married down. Not true. Jon was the son of a professional man, a dentist, I think. Kate grew up in a trailer park. I am sad to see their marriage end. I followed the show from the beginning and became very attached to these kids, they are wonderful young people, some have problems, but who doesn't?

[PunKinPai]

Sounds like the news commentator may have been judging Jon by his Korean ethnicity rather than his family's educational and economic situation.

[Brillig]

All you envious people who could not turn YOUR dysfunctional relationship into a money gusher!

Bully for Jon and Kate who did what they had to do to keep EIGHT children in food and clothes and education.

Not so great for you standardized 2.5 'ers who have to ask "is this politically correct" before you take a piss.

[PoliticalAmazon]

I don't think speaking out on explolitation of children is related to being "politically correct."

The children did not ask to be born. That was J&K's decision.

Children never deserve to be exploited.

[Pamelion]

Good points, Brillig -- I'm sure those poor kids with their 1.1 million dollar house, celebrity visits, and a door wide open for future opportunities will be in therapy over their exploitation ;) It isn't nearly the same as it was for the "Little Rascals". It's a different world -- people don't get nearly as traumatized by being in the spotlight. And if they want out, I don't think it's as hard as it seems -- there have been lots of child stars who you never hear about anymore. Because they simply didn't want it anymore. But because of the decision their parents made, these kids are set for life if they want to be.

[PoliticalAmazon]

1) Unless the kids' names are on the Trust Deed, they are not entitled to one dme from the house.

2) Unfortunately, after being exploited since birth, the six kids will probably end up going through a wide-open door that goes into a mental ward or a rehab facility.

3) The kids have no control over what is happening to them now. The parents are making the decision. Indeed, the children cannot legally make their own decisions, not until they are age 18 and by that time, if they are like many other child stars, there will be nothing left for them to control.

4) Do you know if an independent financial guardian has been appointed to supervise the kids' best interests financilly? In California, that is the law.

5) Exploitation of children cannot lead to a good outcome because the outcome's foundation is based in exploitation.

[PoliticalPsychic]

Oh, I'm so sorry! We're all losers because we haven't hit the jackpot yet and aren't famous or have our own reality show.

Yeah, I'm really jealous. Ya got me!

I should be exploiting my relatives, my husband, my borrrring little life for some big bucks. That would be a money-gusher for me!

I'll get on the phone right now and stop feeling sorry for myself.

[socialmistfit]

Saw this coming from several miles away. Easy going man married to an over-controlling and judgmental wife. Kate emasculated the poor guy while paying more attention to the kids, the show and her career.

It is unfortunate that more wives don’t get how easy it is to keep a husband happy. It is also unfortunate that more husbands don’t know how to tell their wives what they need. It is really usually very simple. Men need praise, intimacy and fun… mostly in that order of importance. When a man is berated instead of being praised… when his wife is constantly too busy or too tired for intimacy… and when most of the fun in the relationship is replaced by stress and obligation, then the value proposition for the relationship disappears. Women are more complex in what they need. The problem is exacerbated when they put this complexity in front of the simple needs of the husband. Not only is the husband not getting what he needs, but he can’t seem to make his wife happy either. Add these things up and it eventually makes more sense to separate.

Wives that keep up husband’s simple needs will in effect energize the husband to work harder to figure out her complex puzzle of needs. Too bad Kate didn’t figure this out.

[PoliticalAmazon]

As my midwestern mother used to say, "There are no unwilling doormats."

Jon was attracted to Kate for a reason, and I doubt she became neurotically controlling overnight.

If I had one bit of advice to give Jon, it would be this: Before you start dating again, find out why you chose Kate because, if you don't, you will very likely end up choosing the same type of woman.

[Siobhan11]

Like all of us, I have watched many marriages break up. Including my own 25 years ago. I think a lot of people don't honestly adress issues right away. Thy think they will go away. Instead they blow up in their face. I did not watch the show, only saw some snippets showing "how bad she was. From what I saw she looked pretty similar to lots of women I know. But somehow their marriages work. So who knows.

I just suddenly realized that I can't believe I am commenting on this.

[Pamelion]

LOL!

[socialmistfit]

"From what I saw she looked pretty similar to lots of women I know."

Show me the working marriages with wives that act like Kate, and I will show you husbands having the interest to separate, but lacking the self-confidence or resources to do it. There are a lot of single Kate-like women out there because they cannot find a man willing to be stuck in that trap.

[uncutdesign]

Don't get all of the comments from people who never watched the show, but are so quick to judge. As someone who watched for several years, here are my thoughts.

I think to compare them to really outrageous reality shows is unfair. Until the recent media circus began around Jon be photographed with that woman (bad move, man!) It was really a very quiet little show that not very many people knew about. It is the recent media attention that has turned this entire thing into a disgusting and sad sort of circus act.

I never got the impression that they were jumping through hoops to "do what sells" (until recently on the part of tlc) I always felt that it was a very honest look at the challenges of raising multiples, and have always been amazed by how disciplined well behaved the children are.

Yes, Kate was a control freak, and she could be really tough on Jon, but that was always the dynamic. People want to paint that as something new, but it's not. I think everything changed when Jon agreed to give of his job and stay home with the kids so that Kate to take on more travel and speaking engagements. Up until that point, he worked outside of the home full time, & Kate had to juggle the kids (yes, mostly on her own). I don't think he handled that well, and quickly became unhappy.

Anyway, I wish them the best. People should leave them

[kareemachan]

No, it was their actions that turned this entire thing into a disgusting and sad circus act.

[PoliticalAmazon]

Oh, please. Exploiting children is beyond a "really outrageous reality show."

The set-up is not right, and the kids will be the ones paying for it. No child should be exploited, and no parent should make their living off their kids.

[dye2000]

http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations
You can send in comments to Discovery Channel at this link.

[PoliticalAmazon]

Perhaps visiting TLC's shows' message boards and leaving a comment to the effect of "Until you quit exploiting the Gossling children, I will not watch another TLC show."

Then write to their advertisers. Snail mail. It means so much more now.

[markjcorsi]

Another "sacred marriage" bites the dust! Did anyone ever think that the DOMA is protecting the wrong group?

[genderoutlaw]

*giggle*