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Kate Gosselin speaks in Austin
Speaking in Austin on Saturday, Kate Gosselin said that the very public end of her marriage this year has rivaled being pregnant with sextuplets as the toughest time in her life.
“There have been days I have not wanted to get out of bed,” Gosselin, the star of the TLC series “Jon and Kate Plus 8,” told the audience at the Balance Expo for Women at the Palmer Events Center. The Gosselins are parents of a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. They announced their separation in June.
She said a focus on her children keeps her going, and that she and the children have gotten closer than ever this summer.
“They are happy, they are healthy, they are loved,” Gosselin, who’s also the author of “Multiple Bles8ings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets” and “Eight Little Faces.”
She asserted that the media scrutiny on her family would not go away if they ended the show, which she said helps provide for the children and is a healthy and normal part of life for them.
Gosselin made frequent references to Jon in relating stories about her family, but took only gentle digs.
“We always joked that when we met we should have walked the other direction,” she said early in her talk, acknowledging the events of the past few months.
Gosselin said she grew up dreaming of being a mother one day, and of especially wanting twins. She had her own twins, Mady and Cara, at 25, what she felt was an advanced age for having her first children.
She devoted a large part of her talk to relating stories of her pregnancy with sextuplets and was frank about the physical and emotional difficulties. “It was like a jail sentence,” she said of her long hospitalization during the pregnancy. Unable to work herself and with her husband out of a job, she described “that terrible guilt that you’re bringing these babies into the world and you can’t provide for them.”
Gosselin said she started allowing news coverage of her family to update all those who had helped them in caring for the children about how the kids were doing. She cited her faith frequently in talking about getting through the pregnancy and the first years of the sextuplets’ lives.
With the dissolution of her marriage and the tabloid attention, she said she felt she was being tested again, but that it renewed for her the goal of being the best mother possible.
“The decisions that I make are not taken lightly,” she said.
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By Frank
August 15, 2009 9:18 AM | Link to this
The CBS morning show did a short segment on the argument and calling the police. Even the host of the show was mocking Jon and Kate in her subtle way. When are these two clowns going to get it?
By Lara
August 10, 2009 7:48 PM | Link to this
Kate is a liar. Her lies can be found on videotape.
I don't blame them for accepting money to do the "reality" show. However, Kate has turned "HOLLYWOOD." She has been blinded by fame, ambition and money.
Kate ended the marriage in October. Today she went to the Today Show, where she treated everyone LIKE GARBAGE and puts on this little act of being the jilted, single mothers. Her acting should have gotten an Emmy nomination.
She threw everyone under the bus, except for her bed buddy Steve. Karma is going to find Kate Gosselin. She has been lying and selling her kids' innocence out for top dollar.
By Julie
August 10, 2009 7:33 PM | Link to this
So much jealousy in this blog. Kate has done the best that she can for her children. If you were in her place you would have done the same thing. The only difference is - you haven't been in her place. Stop being so hateful. It's not an attractive feature for anyone.
By Beejcctx
August 10, 2009 3:07 PM | Link to this
No matter what, this entire show has been about Child Exploitation - a modern day Dionne Quintuplets.
"Multiple births should not be confused with entertainment."
These children do not deserve the way their birth parents have placed them in the public eye for the rest of their lives.... and profited from it! They have done nothing for the kids, but for money and the network that gives them the money - every episode was about something the show wanted them to do - every vacation.... sad sad sad.
Those children have no guarantee of a trust fund or any protections like child actors in Hollywood - and they (ALL CHILDREN) deserve them! This will be a modern day tragedy.... televised 24/7...real life Truman Show.
By Patricia Coleman
August 9, 2009 11:21 PM | Link to this
When did we become a jealous, envious, and judgemental society? How many of you could have raised eight kids with noone working? Kate had to take care of the kids and Jon didn't want to work. Judge not, lest ye be judged.
By Mama Lisa
August 9, 2009 8:10 PM | Link to this
Really Kate? Kids come first? Is that why you took money from day 1 and haven't stopped since? How much did you charge for speaking here?
25 OLD to have kids??? Really??
Jon has become much more interesting than listening to your same old worn out lies. At least he is honest about being a pig with women.
You? The most selfish self-absorbed creature we have ever seen, good-luck when the show gets cancelled.
I am done watching.
By Judy Zaleski
August 9, 2009 3:41 PM | Link to this
Many times I cringed when Kate said hurtful and demeaning things to Jon. I watched him take it and wondered how long before he left. Does she listen to herself? Nothing he did was good enough for her. In one epsiode Jon was preparing a meal for the family. She stood with him in the kitchen making fun of him and the way he did everything. What man wants to live with that.
By Julie
August 9, 2009 2:08 PM | Link to this
I have watched all the episodes of "Jon & Kate" and have felt from the very beginning that Kate always acted superior to Jon, always corrected the things he said, told him what to do, was controlling over him and the kids, said demeaning things to him. I often wondered how he "took it". I believe the TV show contributed greatly to their marriage breakup - not only the public exposure but also the greed as they became wealthy. But the marriage might have eventually had problems anyway due to the way Kate treated Jon on a daily basis. Early on they were able to joke and laugh when she said things to or about him, but he eventually "had enough".
By Cheri Mercer
August 9, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this
What a joke. Get them off the air and stop the media coverage. The biggest loser parents of all time.
By wilma
August 9, 2009 8:29 AM | Link to this
Please someone who was there. Was she as rude as other people say she often acts?
By ann
August 8, 2009 11:20 PM | Link to this
And what snake oil is she selling? Why does she always harp on the need for money - more money - "for the kids". Is she going to be talking about her pregnancy and the birth all the tme. Its over and done with - its time to move on. Is she going to talk about the same old topic even when they are 15, 20 yrs. old. This show needs to be cancelled, she needs to get a real job and stop relying on nannies to raise and educate her children (her sons, by the way, are developmentally slower)She needs to spend time with her kids and not on her dresses with plunging necklines or watching her fake boobs or exposing her very private part ro and in front of the paparazzi.
By Brian
August 8, 2009 10:11 PM | Link to this
Is Kate really worth reporting on? Making a buck is what it comes down too.
By Brian
August 8, 2009 10:06 PM | Link to this
It is all about money and not the kids.
By Denise
August 8, 2009 9:50 PM | Link to this
In other words she sat up there and LIED as usual!!
By Oh, please.
August 8, 2009 8:54 PM | Link to this
I'm pretty sure that Kate Gosselin has nothing of value to say, at least not to me. Why oh why do we keep celebrating this kind of person? Sad commentary on our society.
By optimist
August 8, 2009 8:21 PM | Link to this
Did Kate say anything of substance other than to beat around the bush? I cannot believe that people are still paying to hear her dribble. Did they pass the hat for love offerings?
Sorry, no sympathy. She will just have to go home and count the $100,000 in CASH that she is said to be keeping in the house. Did you all add to her stash?