Jon & Kate Plus 8 has given the Gosselin family celebrity status, however matriarch Kate claims it isn't all it's cracked up to be.

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"Before this, I'd never stood on line at the grocery store, looked at the people on the cover of magazines, and thought about what they're going through," she told People in a Wednesday report.

"I'd never thought, 'Oh my god, this is totally doing them in.' But now, I understand what they live with: Everywhere you go you're being stalked, you're being followed -- it's hell, on the cover of a magazine."

Last week alone, Gosselin was on the cover of four magazines -- People, Us Weekly, Star and The National Enquirer.  She's on the cover of Us Weekly again this week, marking her third-straight appearance as the magazine's cover story.

All of the coverage has focused on alleged extramarital activities -- as Gosselin patriarch Jon has been forced to refute rumors that he's romantically involved with 23-year-old schoolteacher Deanna Hummel, while Kate has had to deny that she's involved with family bodyguard Steven Neild.

"It's so scary," Kate told People about the constant coverage .

"It's like one of those movies where you have to change your identity and go underground. I've been saying, 'Let's find a country where our show doesn't air, and let's just go there until this all dies.' I have to laugh about this, or else I'll cry. It's a matter of, when will they stop?"

When Jon & Kate Plus 8 first premiered on TLC in April 2007, Kate said she initially felt "very ugly towards fans."

"The gawking, that sort of response creeped me out," she told People.  "I was not willing or ready to accept what you get back when you put your life out there."

However over time, Kate added she learned to accept the attention the reality show came with.

"At some point, I turned around and I realized, 'Okay, people are pulling for us, the feel inspired by us, they love us,'" she explained.  "It clicked: without the fans there is no show, without the show, there is no job."

While all of the recent media coverage has surrounded alleged infidelity, Us Weekly's upcoming June 1 issue instead touches upon the couple's eight kids and paints Kate as a perfectionist who once reportedly fired 40 nurses and nurse's aides over a three month span.

"I don't want them dragged into this. It kills me," Kate told People about the coverage of her kids. "I'm far from perfect, but I've started to prioritize what is important, what has to change, what I can live with, and what I have to live with. My children are important."

As for her marriage, Kate reiterated recent fears that she's unsure if will last.

"My attitude is important. My marriage is important, and though I don't know where that's going right now, I know I can definitely choose my attitude," she told People.  "And I know that I will never give up, I will not stop, I will not fail my kids. Everything else I can't control, I'm just going to have to learn to live with it."
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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