Jon Gosselin Apologizes to Kate, 'Slows Things Down' With Hailey Glassman

Nov. 2, 2009 — -- What was billed as an intimate discussion about the pitfalls of fame between Jon Gosselin and his spiritual advisor, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, ended up as an announcement as public as a Facebook relationship status change.

Sunday night at New York City's Westside Synagogue, the "Jon & Kate Plus 8" dad told a crowd of press, fans and critics that he's cooling things off with girlfriend Hailey Glassman.

"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," Gosselin said. "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."

Gosselin added that he and Glassman, the daughter of Kate Gosselin's plastic surgeon, "should never have gone to France" earlier this year.

"Half the stuff I've done, if I look at my moral compass, I shouldn't have done," Gosselin admitted. "I know that but I did it anyway. It's like fame canceled out conviction."

The reality TV star also apologized to his estranged wife.

"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."

Gosselin's public mea culpa followed his announcement last week that he's seeking counseling from Boteach, an Orthodox rabbi known to counsel a number of celebrities including the late Michael Jackson. The event came one day before Kate Gosselin returns to TLC with "Her Story." It also follows an avalanche of bad press for Gosselin, including his girlfriend, Hailey Glassman's recent allegations that he throws "mantrums" and takes his anger out on her, and his estranged wife's seemingly never ending list of grievances.