Jon & Kate sound off

Jon and Kate — plus date? Jon Gosselin, the long-suffering patriarch on TLC’s top-rated reality show Jon & Kate Plus Eight, found himself at the center of a tabloid tsunami after he was photographed leaving a Pennsylvania bar with a mystery woman on April 18. (Both he and the woman, now identified as Deanna Hummel, insist they’re just pals.) ”I may be guilty of choosing the wrong time and place to hang out with my friends, but I am not guilty of cheating on my wife,” Jon, 32 — who weathered a similar scandal in March — tells EW exclusively. Although Kate shares Jon’s anger at the tabloids, she seems to place the bulk of the blame on her husband of almost 10 years. ”Jon’s poor judgment and irresponsible behavior has, without a doubt, caused some added tension,” says the 34-year-old, who’s famous for her tough-talking approach with her kids and her husband. Still, this is exactly the kind of messy real-life drama that has kept fans tuning in to TLC’s most lucrative show — and it will likely boost viewership for their upcoming fifth season. What it’ll do to their marriage? That’s another story. ”We are not concerned about the ratings right now,” Kate says. ”Our main focus is on our family and working through this.”