Jon Gosselin's new girlfriend is apparently using their relationship to boost her own celebrity status.

ADVERTISEMENT
Hailey Glassman -- the 22-year-old daughter of the doctor who previously performed Kate Gosselin's tummy tuck -- is dating the newly-separated Jon & Kate Plus 8 star to become famous, a Glassman friend told Us Weekly in a Tuesday report.

"I think after realizing she had a connection to Jon through her father and that Jon and Kate's marriage was rocky, she saw an opportunity to get famous," the friend told Us.

Glassman has previously auditioned for MTV's The Real World and Oxygen's Bad Girls Club reality shows, according to Us.

James Appleton -- who met Glassman during a 2007 spring break trip to Acapulco, Mexico -- told Us that he had been her "hookup friend" until she quickly dumped him just prior to her relationship with Gosselin going public.

"A mutual friend was like, 'Oh hey, your girl Hailey is pretty famous. She's dating this older guy who has like eight kids,'" says Appleton told Us.

Despite allegedly seeking fame via the relationship, Glassman's initial foray into the media spotlight apparently didn't work out too well.

After the new couple was spotted over the weekend holding hands in St. Tropez in the French Riviera and taking a trip on fashion designer Christian Audigier's yacht, Glassman apparently became unhappy about all the negative media attention she was receiving due to a prior arrest for possession of marijuana and additional reports that she's a "slutty party girl."

The negative press reportedly forced Glassman to stay indoors on the final night of her weekend trip.

Gosselin returned to the U.S. on Tuesday evening without Glassman, according to Us.

He is soon expected to begin filming new episodes of Jon & Kate Plus 8, which went on hiatus last month after Kate filed for a no-fault divorce and the couple publicly announced their separation during a subsequent episode of the TLC reality series.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.