Jon and Kate Saga Finally Over?
Jon and Kate's reality TV show ends tonight, and their marriage may be over by the New Year.
According to CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom, Jon Gosselin brought a dozen red roses to the weekend meeting with his estranged wife, Kate. But the gathering was all business. It was an arbitration hearing that moves them closer to divorce.
"It's so sad it's cut short. It's too soon," Kate Gosselin said about her reality series, not her marriage.
After meeting face-to-face for five hours this weekend, Jon and Kate have agreed on the fate of their eight. Kate gets primary custody of the kids. They're hammering out how to split their assets, but neither wants alimony, according to published reports.
A source close to Kate tells People magazine "Kate is just relieved that a very painful chapter of her life is nearly over."
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The finale of their series "Jon and Kate Plus 8" ends its run with the twins and sextuplets visiting a fire station and a farm as the paparazzi snap away.
"It's just a part of our life," Jon said.
For five years TLC's cameras captured the growing pains of the Gosselin kids, but it was Jon and Kate's marriage meltdown that made the headlines.
"I'm tired of smiling on the outside when I'm crying on the inside," Kate said in the "big announcement" episode.
"I don't hate Kate," Jon added.
As their battles played out in public, Jon pulled the plug on the series saying he no longer wanted his kids involved. TLC sued him for breach of contract and the network hopes to launch a show starring Kate without her eight next spring.
"It's been a great run," Kate said.
Sticking points do remain before the divorce is final, Bloom pointed out. An arbitrator will determine how the couple's money and property will be divided. "We expect a ruling within 30 days," she told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez.
"From what we've seen on the show, Kate is in the house with the kids. Do you think that that would indicate there's not going to be a 50/50 split, she'll get more?" Rodriguez asked.
"Well, the law in Pennsylvania is equitable distribution, which simply means that all of the property accrued during the marriage gets divided up equally. Roughly a 50/50 split. That's what we expect here," Bloom said.