Jon Gosselin at a bar in February
US Weekly is running a cover story in their latest issue that features a photo of TLC reality star Jon Gosselin of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” in his car at 2am with another woman. Gosselin was partying at a bar without his wedding ring, but claims that the woman was just a friend and that he was letting her drive his new car, a white Nissan Nismo Z which retails at $37,000 and up. Gosselin is unemployed and he and his wife Kate live off the income from their reality show with their eight children. This isn’t the first time he’s been photographed out drinking at bars without his wife.

According to the woman seen with Jon, his story is accurate and they’re just friends.

“We’re just friends,” Deanna Hummel, 23, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “It’s absurd that anyone would think otherwise.”

According to Hummel, she met Gosselin through a mutual pal a couple of months ago. Since then, the two have been hanging out – as part of a group of friends, not as couple. The social outings have included visits to each other’s houses and nights out on the town, but always with others there, and it’s always all innocent, according to Hummel.

“We just talk and socialize, the normal things you do when you see friends,” says Hummel.

Hummel admits that the two did show up at Legends Bar in Reading, Pa., recently, but says a published photo of her driving Gosselin’s car has been misinterpreted. “He just got this new car and I wanted to drive it. I’m into cars,” she says. “We all have guy and girl friends. Because of who he is, it gets portrayed the wrong way, and it’s unfair to him and his family.”

She also adamantly denies that Gosselin called her “babe” while heading to his car. “He did not by any means call me ‘babe,’ ” she says. “Nobody calls me babe. That made me laugh.”

What she doesn’t find funny, though, is being linked to a married man. “He’s a very nice guy, don’t get me wrong. But he’s married with eight children,” says Hummel, who is single. She adds that Gosselin “has a great family life. I would never ever think to pursue anything.”

After reports broke last week that Gosselin had been spotted out late at night with a woman who is not his wife, he released a statement saying he’d shown “poor judgment.”

“My family is the most important thing in my life and it kills me that these allegations have hurt them,” he added.

[From People]

This week’s National Enquirer says that not only was Jon photographed with that woman – he was also caught making out with her in a stairwell by the hotel bar. The two didn’t get a room, though. There’s some speculation that the woman is actually one of the Gosselin’s unseen nannies or maids, as they’re said to have plenty of hired help that they hide from the cameras. It’s suspicious that Jon was seen out without his wedding ring and that he’s partying so much when he has a wife and eight kids at home. Many of you who watch this show say that they have a dysfunctional relationship and that Kate is often nagging Jon, who can be passive aggressive towards her. Even if Jon isn’t cheating, it doesn’t bode well for his relationship if he’s out with other women in the middle of the night.