Jon and Kate Gosselin have money issues, want to be back on television

Kate Gosselin once was so hounded by fame and the paparazzi that she poked fun of it during her run on Dancing With The Stars, and hired a full-time bodyguard to accompany herself and her eight children everywhere. Now, the fame has subsided, and so have the financial opportunities. Kate covers this week’s People magazine with a look at their lives now, and what they plan to do with the future.

Ex-husband Jon Gosselin has been all over the place since news broke that he was cheating on Kate, and they decided to get a divorce. For a while he got some sponsorship deals, and decided to quit their hugely successful TLC show Jon and Kate Plus 8. Kate tried to continue with the show for a while, but it eventually fizzled. Since then Kate has been campaigning to land some sort of new television deal, hoping for a talk show, but has been willing to do a reality show again.

She’s still gunning for a morning talk show, telling People “a gig on a show like ‘The Talk’ would be ideal.” Jon is also open to television work now, though in the past he claimed to no longer want to be a part of it. For a while he was banned by a contractual agreement with TLC from making money from the TV and media appearances, and he briefly worked installing solar panels. Now he does contract IT jobs and sells energy-efficient products on the side, but he says he would be happy to land a television job. “For the foreseeable future, I just go to work,” he says. “If a TV gig happens for me, great. If it happens for Kate, yay. In a recession you can’t be choosy.”

Jon has had a string of relationships since his split with Kate, and has lived in several different states, but he’s now living close to the family. Kate says he’s in a cabin about 30 minutes away from the kids in Pennsylvania. He comes over once a week for dinner, and every other weekend to spend the night with them. Other than that, Kate and Jon keep their communication to a minimum. “The way he lives versus the way I live is the reason why we’re divorced,” she says. “Let’s just leave it at that.” She also admitted that while she’d like to do another television job, she isn’t open to just anything, including working with ex-husband Jon.

Kate no longer employs her longtime bodyguard Steve Neild, and says that she’s living “very carefully these days” by “piecing and patching together” an income through her KatePlusMy8.com, her books including and upcoming cookbook called Love Is in the Mix, and is about to launch CouponsByKate.com. She must be inspired by her experience with CouponCabin.com.She said she could never go back to her nursing job because she wouldn’t make enough money to cover the babysitting bills.

Kate is now contrite about her past, admitting that she had been difficult to work with. “I made so many mistakes, of course,” she tells the magazine. “It feels like a whole other lifetime ago. And sometimes I don’t even remember much of it. Both when the babies were born and during the divorce, I was on survival mode. I’m not the same person I was. I don’t even recognize her. I’m more laid-back now, and I realize what’s important.” She definitely made a better impression than she has in the past on her episode of <Celebrity Wife Swap this year with Kendra Wilkinson.

As for the kids, they are really growing up. Twins Mady and Cara are now 12, and the sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Joel, Leah, and Hannah are 9 years old! Can you believe it?

UPDATE: Jon is now being sued by Kate for millions, and has a job as a waiter.

Would you watch Kate Gosselin on a talk show? What about another reality TV gig? What about Jon?