Celebrity Mound

Two weeks after divorce papers were filed, the only fireworks the Gosselin family thankfully saw this weekend were in the sky.

July 4th was a family affair for Jon and Kate Gosselin, who reunited over the holiday weekend to spend time with their eight children in their Wernersville, Pa. home, People.com reports.

The “Jon and Kate Plus 8″ stars kept their promise to “focus solely on the needs of our family” and spent the day playing volleyball, picking blueberries and lighting sparklers.

The day was reportedly planned, as the reality stars agreed weeks ago to set aside their differences for the holiday.

“Jon pointed to the July 4 holiday and said, ‘What are we going to do about that?’” Kate said. “I absolutely cannot imagine not spending every single holiday with my kids. I don’t care what it takes. I will be there.”

(source)

Will TLC change the name of its drama-filled show from “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ to “Jon & Kate Plus 9″?

In light of the Gosselins’ divorce announcement on Monday night (watched by a record 10.6 million viewers), no, they won’t be having any more children, thanks. However, a carefully placed source tells us that Jon’s reported girlfriend, 23-year-old Deanna Hummel, is expected to join the show next season.

Although the network announced Tuesday that it was pulling the plug on the remaining new episodes of the hit series, the show will resume on Aug. 3 with Deanna on board.

“Deanna’s role isn’t expected to be big, but because she’s part of Jon’s life, she’ll be filmed,” says our insider. The source added that the show will focus primarily on how Jon and Kate are raising their brood separately. As of now, the duo plans to flip-flop the days they reside in the house so the children will not have to shuttle between their parents.

A spokeswoman for TLC confirmed the show’s hiatus and announced that, in lieu of the new episodes, a retrospective of the couple’s first 10 years will air instead. “During this time, the family will take some time off to regroup,” said the rep. Of Deanna’s appearance, the spokeswoman would say only, “We have no specific plans for future episodes.”

For now, Jon and Kate are just trying to get by day to day. Ironically, in the wake of the on-air divorce declaration, the entire Gosselin clan is finally residing in their multimillion- dollar Pennsylvania home together. Although Kate had not been seen at the home in four days (Jon even told reporters on Father’s Day that he didn’t know when she’d be back), she returned to her family shortly before midnight on Monday.

A pal of Kate’s says that, since making the announcement, a huge weight has been lifted from her shoulders.

“She has been taking some time to think about her life,” said the pal. “She’s upset about what’s going on, but she and Jon will always be there for their children, and they’ll always come first on her list of priorities. But considering she’s in the middle of a divorce, Kate is quite upbeat.”

Said Kate in Tuesday night’s telecast, “I’m tired of smiling on the outside and crying on the inside.”

Now, it appears, her happiness is for real.

(source)

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

The co-stars of “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” who are parents of 5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins, spoke of their decision to separate during Monday’s episode of the TLC reality series. Near the end of the hour-long 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, now in its fifth season, as it was originally envisioned: A reality show that would chronicle the challenges of raising a supersized family.

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

“My stomach is churning because I know this is gonna cause a huge fight,” Kate told the camera as the installation process began in their yard.

The latter part of the show 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.”

“Jon & Kate” is TLC’s most-watched series, drawing nearly 10 million viewers for its season premiere recently. But with the couple’s celebrity has come nonstop celebrity coverage, and scandal. There have been reports of infidelity by both Jon and Kate (accusations both of them deny).

Adding to the strain, Pennsylvania’s Labor Department opened an investigation into whether the show’s production is complying with state child labor laws. TLC has said it “fully complies” with state laws and regulations.

Looking ahead, Kate said, “I don’t really want to be alone. I don’t want to do this alone.”

But she described the split as “the next chapter.” And while she and Jon have spoken angrily about the pressure on their marriage from unsought fame and press attention, she conceded, “I believe that it’s a chapter that probably would have played out had the world been watching, or not.”

One thing the couple could agree on: “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ will continue.

“We interview separately, we’ll film different things,” Jon explained. “Me and the kids, her and the kids.”

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

It’s Father’s Day – and for the Gosselin brood on Sunday, that meant Mom was nowhere to be seen.

With the struggling family set to make a big announcement on “Jon & Kate Plus 8” on Monday, dad Jon was spotted playing with his kids on Sunday and taking questions from fans and reporters at their Wernersville, Penn., home.

Asked where wife Kate was, Jon said he had “no idea,” according to People.

However, he would not answer questions about a potential divorce – which is rumored to be Monday’s announcement – or his recently reported New York apartment hunting trip.

“You’ll have to watch the show,” Jon said.

One thing he did discuss was son Aaden’s recent injury – the young boy was photographed last week with a band-aid on his head.

“They stitched it up and he’s fine,” Jon said, explaining that Aaden had hit his head on a corner while playing in the house.

While Kate wasn’t around to keep him company, Jon got Father’s Day love from his kids, who made him homemade cards for the big day. The family played lacrosse and the young Gosselins tried out a Slip ‘N Slide on the front lawn before Jon took questions and signed autographs.

(source)

On camera, TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin tries to portray herself as a supermom who can handle taking care of 8-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets. These exclusive new photographs show that Kate’s composed demeanor may just be a facade. Behind the scenes, she seems to be unraveling. Around 11 a.m. on June 13, a witness spotted Kate, 34, and the children playing outside of their Reading, Pa., home. When Leah, one of the sextuplets, started blowing a whistle loudly, Kate told her to stop because she was on the phone. But as soon as Leah blew on the whistle again, Kate “seemed to lose her temper” and said, “Did you not hear me?” Then she stormed over to her daughter, grabbed her and hit her. “The girl was screaming and crying,” the witness adds. “Kate just pushed her away and walked off with her coffee. Her older sisters were trying to make Leah feel better.”

(source)