Jon & Kate Are DIVORCED
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PHILADLELPHIA — Jon and Kate Gosselin officially divorced Friday after 10 years of marriage, eight children and a year of tabloid headlines.
Kate Gosselin gets the family home in eastern Pennsylvania in the no-fault divorce agreement, according to her lawyer, Mark Momjian. She will also continue as the primary caretaker of the reality TV couple's 9-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets.
"Divorce is always a difficult process, and in this case there's obviously the added challenge of being a celebrity and having to deal with the reality of such a large family," Momjian told The Associated Press. "But I know she is very excited about restructuring her life and looking forward to the new year."
Jon's lawyer, Mark Jay Heller, was traveling Friday and not available for comment, a spokesman said. The divorce agreement was first reported by TMZ.com.
The Gosselins – he is 32, she is 34 – worked out custody arrangements themselves but let an arbiter decide financial issues, Momjian said.
They filed for divorce in June, the same month they told viewers of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" about the split in an episode seen by more than 10 million people.
At the time, the Gosselins said the show had been a good thing for both them and their children, and they denied it played a role in their divorce. However, Jon Gosselin later insisted that the network stop filming his children, thwarting plans to segue the show into "Kate Plus Eight" and focus on her role as a single parent.
TLC has said it is developing a show for her that could debut this spring. Details have not been disclosed.
The network, meanwhile, has sued Jon Gosselin for breach of contract over allegedly paid appearances on rival networks, as well as over other issues.
The couple spoke on their show of plans to take turns with the children in their sprawling new home in Wernersville, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. However, Momjian declined to say whether that remains the plan.
"This is her home now," Momjian said. However, he added, "she clearly wants the children to be involved in both parents' lives."
In a statement issued by her lawyer's firm, Kate Gosselin called the marital breakup difficult.
"I am very relieved that our divorce has been finalized, and I look forward to the new year, focusing on the children," said Kate Gosselin, a former nurse. "This has been a challenging transition for all of us."
Momjian called Kate Gosselin "a very responsible parent."
"She is fully confident that the children's needs, both financially and emotionally, are being taken care of," he said.
The final "Jon & Kate Plus 8" episode aired Nov. 23 and showed the parents taking their children on separate outings.
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MARYCLAIRE DALE 12/18/09 08:11 PM ET Associated Press