Jon Gosselin Claims He Refused Over $1 Million Offer to ‘Lie About His Failing Marriage’ With Kate
He’s not holding back. Jon Gosselin is claiming that he was offered a significant amount of money — over one million dollars — to stay with his ex-wife, Kate Gosselin, for the sake of their television show, Jon & Kate Plus 8. The reality star alleged that TLC wanted him to “lie about his failing marriage” so they could continue filming and keep their sky-high ratings up, however Jon says he refused the payout to protect his kids as well as his own integrity.
“I could have made millions of dollars if I would’ve just continued, took their offer and stayed married for two years. And I probably wouldn’t even be sitting here today. But I couldn’t live with myself. I couldn’t live a lie,” the 42-year-old told DailyMailTV.
During his candid new interview, Jon also claimed the TV network even paid for their counseling sessions in hopes of salvaging their relationship, however Kate allegedly wasn’t showing up which made him feel even more isolated.
“Kate even picked the counselor but I went to the sessions by myself,” he stated. “It was clear to me that I was the only one that wanted the marriage to work. Kate came to me and said that she was leaving the marriage and she’s the one that filed for divorce.”
“I had Kate against me, I had TLC against me and when you’re inside the fishbowl, you have nowhere to move, you have no way of breaking the glass,” Jon added. “But when you’re outside you can see everything. That’s why I ultimately was glad to leave.”
Jon and Kate, 44, split in 2009 and the father of eight said he has no regrets about his decision to walk away. The DJ revealed that he knew it was time to quit when he was going through a messy breakup with his former flame, however his choice was allegedly not received positively by the network. “They’re like, you can’t. I’m like, ‘well, I’ve quit many jobs, I can do whatever I want’. I hung a big sign on my gate and I said, ‘if crew come in here, you’re all trespassing’. And no one came in. So we had a nine month hiatus and I got sued,” Jon claimed. By the end of the year, the show’s name was changed to Kate Plus 8.
The father of eight said TLC sued him for $1.5 million due to his breach of contract and Jon ultimately settled for $200,000. “So what, I quit a job, but you know what, my divorce was never filmed, ever,” Jon explained. “None of the drama, none of the episodes will ever air, it’s the best decision I ever made.”
In hindsight, Jon said he understood why they wanted him to continue filming, since his family had the number one reality show at the time. “But I just wasn’t gonna lie on camera. I wasn’t gonna have a fake marriage,” he explained. “How can you tell your kids not to lie and then go lie to the American public? I wasn’t going to have side girlfriends and do all these crazy things and continue to keep on lying and lying and lying for a buck. I just wasn’t, I left.”
Now that his gag order has been lifted after 10 years, Jon also shut down rumors that he was unfaithful to his ex. He said, “I never cheated on my wife, not once, they leaked stories to give that impression, but it just wasn’t true.”
Kate Gosselin and TLC did not immediately respond to In Touch’s request for comment.
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