TLC/Michael Pilla, INFphoto.comWell, it's nice to know that Jon Gosselin isn't throwing the mother of his eight children under the bus when he's out of the public eye.
"People grow apart, people change—but as a mother he speaks very highly of her," said Kate Major, the Gosselin gal-pal who found herself christened Kate 2.0 after embarking on a whirlwind romance with the divorcing dad.
"He expressed to me how difficult it's been for him, with...media constantly surrounding him," Major said during an exclusive sit-down with E! News. "After spending a week with him straight, I pretty much can see how difficult it is."
Of course, she also talked about how difficult it's been for her since she voluntarily inserted herself into the increasingly crowded picture.
"It's been really hard," she said. "I've pretty much had to go into hiding."
That was after she was compelled to quit her job, of course.
Major admits to "overstepping [her] boundaries" by getting involved with Gosselin. The two met when she was assigned to report on his family for Star, and the moment she left the magazine is the one Major considers to be the "low point" of this whole experience.
"I just felt it was obviously a conflict of interest, to say the least...Yes, I did make a mistake," she concluded, referring to her ultimately unfortunate decision to mix business and pleasure.
But then again, Major has said that she felt an "instant chemistry" with Gosselin.
"It happened very quickly," she recalled. "I even said to him, 'I feel like I've known you my whole life.'"
Which would be sweet if she hadn't been sent to him by a tabloid to report on his unraveling marriage, alleged infidelity and whatever other scandalous tidbits she managed to unearth.
Meanwhile, Hailey Glassman, who was already dating Gosselin when he met Major, is the one who was telling RadarOnline.com Thursday, "Yeah, we've always been together," when the duo were spotted leaving a Starbucks hand in hand.
And pretty soon, yet another side of the story will be told—by the great mom herself, Kate Gosselin, who will be sitting down with Today's Meredith Vieira on Monday for her first interview since she and Jon announced their separation.
We expect it to be heavy on stoicism, light on big reveals.
Tune in Friday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. to catch the third and final part of E! News' exclusive interview with Kate Major.
________
And remember, Kate will be in studio Monday, Aug. 10, so leave any questions you may have for her in the comments section.