Just two short years ago, Jon Gosselin and his wife Kate were two Pennsylvania parents struggling to raise their brood on "Jon & Kate Plus 8" -- my, how things have changed.
The reality couple -- who announced their divorce earlier this year -- has been splashed across tabloid covers all year, with paparazzi watching the estranged pair's moves every step of reality TV way.
Jon, who received pity from fans when he took "abuse" from Kate, has completely transformed his image. The father of eight took a break from daddy duty to hang out on designer Christian Audigier's yacht, party in bars and allegedly hook up with a bevy of women -- Kate Major, Hailey Glassman and Stephanie Santoro. Gosselin denies the allegations of sexual exploits.
According to VanityFair.com, Jon truly believes he's a celebrity -- a far cry from the househusband who used to be okay with taking a back seat to Kate. "I think Jon lost his identity," a TLC show source revealed. "He was like, 'Look, I don't like this fame. I hate this.' And Kate was like, 'It's funny, I hated the fame and now I'm liking it.' She was the star. Jon acknowledged on the show that she was the one who had the writing, the books, the career. This is a classic story of people growing apart."
The exes, who have now vowed to stop trashing each other, blamed each other for the demise of their marriage. A Jon source tells Vanity Fair that the reality dad tried to make it work, but Kate called it quits in October 2008. "She had grown out of him, she was done with him, and she no longer wanted to be with him.' She said, 'I don't even know why I married you in the first place.'" Kate's rep tells VF that the once very public Kate is taking the high road -- and not discussing divorce details.
The couple's children, Kate says, have been "acting out" lately. "I'm trying to give them the grace to see, if they're acting out of line, I'm trying to look deeper into why that is," Gosselin says. "Why the kids are acting out. 'Cause it's all inter-related. I mean, they don't see it, but it's all interconnected."
TLC, who fired Jon and is suing him for breach of contract, has currently suspended filming on "Kate Plus Eight."
The Jon and Kate Jabs Collection
In October 2009, Kate said, “I'm saddened and confused by Jon's public media statements.”
“It appears that Jon's priority is Jon and his interests. My priority remains our children and their well-being.”
“We film it separately,” Jon admitted. "She has her film crew. And I have my film crew.
In September 2009 Jon said, “I can't sit on the sofa with that woman. I can't sit on the couch next to someone I despise… I despise her because she's not speaking from the heart.”
“While I certainly have a very different perception of how our marriage dissolved, for the sake of my children I maintain that I'm not going to go into details of aspects I believe should remain private.” Kate's statement to ABC regarding how she feels about revealing her personal life with Jon.
I Used to Have a Ring on It
Jon also slams his ex for using her wedding ring. “I think she still wears the ring for public perception,” he said. “I don't wear my ring because she took my ring. I don't have it.” Jon added, "So I laid it down one night. It was gone.
Jon revealed on “Good Morning America” that their marriage “will never be fixed.”
“I didn't leave Kate for Hailey. People think I left Kate for Hailey… because of the time frame and what they printed in the tabloids. You can't control who you love. I strongly believe that. You cannot control that. It's two people joined together.”
Jon admits in a September interview with ABC that he will always “love Kate as the mother of my kids. But to tell you right now, at this point of what's going on, I do not love Kate.”
After being photographed with a few different females in the media, Jon had this to say, “Like most people, I have male and female friends and I'm not going to end my friendships just because I'm on TV.”
Jon tells TLC's cameras “People think I've changed, and I have changed, but I'm now the person I know I am.”
“I don't trust her anymore,” Jon tells reporter Chris Cuomo of ABC. “I was abused… I'm not going back to that lifestyle.”
Kate told CBS in an interview, “He does not want to be married to me anymore.” Kate said it was not she who initiated the divorce.
In an interview with ABC, Jon said, “Well, excuse me, I'm taking care of the kids. She's on book tours, she's doing all these things. You know, she's gone a week. You know, comes back. Packs up and leaves again. I'm standing there like, 'Oh, OK. Your mom's gone again…”
Kate told CBS cameras, “This is a situation that absolutely would have happened whether the cameras were here or not. I don't want people thinking we traded marriage for fame. Ever.”
In an ABC interview, Jon said Kate deliberately “separated” him from his mother and brothers."
Jon said, “I was beaten down so long, I couldn't even make a decision for myself.”
Jon says Hailey Glassman, daughter of Kate's plastic surgeon, is someone he loves more than he did Kate — and that she shows him “love and respect” as Kate never did.
