Jon Gosselin’s public mea culpa with TV Rabbi Shmuley Boteach happened Sunday. Jon sort-of took responsibility for his actions, but he also hedged a little. He said he knew he’d done some bad things, but that it was like the fame took over and made him into some douchebag version of his normally sane, moral self. I’m paraphrasing, of course. He also apologized to both his estranged wife, Kate, and the girlfriend who cried to the press that he emotionally abused her, Hailey Glassman. As for rumors that Jon was going to break up with Glassman on Sunday, Jon says that’s not true and that they’re “slowing things down” and “not taking a break.”

During a public dialogue Sunday night with celebrity Rabbi Shmuley Boteach at New York City’s West Side Jewish Center, the reality star, 32, said, “I think I’m just misunderstood. I’m not a fame seeker. Everyday I look in the mirror and I wonder [why I’m famous]. I don’t sing. I don’t dance. I’m not a Nobel Peace Prizewinner. I just had eight kids and I had a show on TLC.”

Dressed in a formal black suit and without his trademark CZ earrings, Gosselin openly discussed the reasons for the dissolution of his marriage with Kate Gosselin and how he became intoxicated by celebrity.

Without being anymore specific than admitting he’s been photographed in nightclubs, Gosselin acknowledged his recent bad behavior. “Half the stuff I’ve done, if I look at my moral compass, I shouldn’t have done,” he said. “I know that but I did it anyway. It’s like fame canceled out conviction.”

Reaching Out to Kate
Part of Gosselin’s attempt to make amends includes apologizing to his former Jon & Kate Plus 8 costar.

“I want to apologize to Kate in private,” he said. “I’ll apologize to her for openly having relationships in the public eye. That was a huge mistake, because if she would’ve done that to me, I would have been extremely pissed off. Not because our relationship is over, it’s almost like a stab in the back. And now that I think about it, it was a very wrong thing to do. I definitely regret it.”

Referring to himself and girlfriend Hailey Glassman, he said the two of them “should never have gone to France.”

Gosselin claims he is well aware of the public’s perception of him but insists he is his own harshest critic. “It’s hard for me because I can’t forgive myself for the things I’ve done,” he said. “So to ask for forgiveness from someone who may never forgive me is tough for me. I do apologize to Kate. I’m sorry for doing the things I did. I do ask for her forgiveness.”

Not Taking a Break from Glassman
Despite rumors that Gosselin was set to announce his breakup from Glassman, 22, Gosselin said they are merely applying the brakes to their relationship.

“We decided not to take a break, just slow things down, until I get through my divorce and I know everything is settled and okay. I don’t want another failure in my relationships. I don’t want to make the same mistakes I made with Kate, with Hailey. I would just be repeating the pattern over again,” he said.

The new status of the duo’s relationship comes on the heels of Glassman’s highly charged interview with TV’s The Insider in which she claimed Gosselin was emotionally abusive and threw “mantrums.” Gosselin claims there are no hard feelings, despite the harsh criticism and claims that he was in fact, proud of her honesty.

According to Gosselin, “I was standing right there [at The Insider]. Mike [Gosselin’s manager] was standing right there. He was looking at me like, ‘Oh my god, what is she saying?’ He’s looking at my career going down the tubes and I’m thinking, ‘Good for her, she got all of this out.’ ”

He added, “I have to be accountable for my actions. Maybe she used the wrong terminology, but she’s 22, that’s what she knew. Those are the words and that’s how she felt.”

[From People]

Jon could have handled that much worse. He was gracious towards Hailey and grudgingly acknowledged how he hurt his wife.

Michael Lohan says Jon Gosselin double-crossed him
Meanwhile Jon’s former best buddy, Michael Lohan, gave a statement to Radar that claims Jon cut him out of deals they were working on together with people Lohan introduced him to. Lohan wrote, in part, “Jon began to become secretive and distant, regardless of the deals I brought to the table. A book contract was even breached without any consideration. All because other people wanted a bigger piece of the pie. As of late, contracts have been breached, legal ethics violations have ensued and Jon has become a different person than I thought he was.”

Proof Octomom reality show was in the works
Radar also has e-mails from Jon’s representatives that prove that Jon and Octomom Nadya Suleman were seriously considering working on a reality show together. Suleman half-denied the claims, and just said the show was a “joke,” but Jon said that story was “utterly false,” and that he was “troubled to learn that the media has accepted as true the scurrilous rumor that I would appear in a reality television program with Nadya Suleman.” Why am I not surprised to learn that Jon was lying through his teeth and that his people were working on that show?

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