'Jon and Kate' on the Slide

The "Jon and Kate Plus 8" craze is starting to lose its appeal -- and the show's ratings have plummeted.

Monday night's episode saw a drop of more than a million viewers from the previous week. The show included a visit from the stars of TLC's "American Chopper" -- and brought in only 2.9 million viewers, while the May 25 season 5 premiere was watched by a whopping 9.8 million viewers.

Rumors about Kate and Jon Gosselin's rocky marriage helped make the show's season premiere the most watched episode so far. On the show, the two do not directly address any marital issues or controversy.

People magazine reports Jon Gosselin was about 150 miles away from his wife and kids on the weekend of his 10th wedding anniversary. Jon enjoyed lunch in West Nyack, NY with an "older male friend" while Kate and co. played on the lawn of their home in Pennsylvania.

A waiter at the Stir Crazy Fresh Asian Grill in West Nyack tells People, "Jon was on the phone most of the time and was definitely talking to his kids."