'Dancing With the Stars': Kiss Kate Gosselin Good-Bye

April 20, 2010— -- Kiss Kate goodbye.

In a tearful conclusion to Tuesday night's program, Kate Gosselin was voted off "Dancing With the Stars" by the viewers at home.

She had improbably made it to the fifth week of the season, outlasting even astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the process, proving that the tenacity that made her famous as the reality star of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" can hold her in good stead on other stages.

"You are one tough cookie and you are no quitter," judge Carrie Ann Inaba remarked as she eased Kate out the door.

"She's not like our other stars," she said, pointing out that Gosselin became famous first by being a stay-at-home mother of eight and then a tabloid sensation.

It was Gosselin's first time in the bottom two of the program -- pitting her directly against another single mother of a different stripe: former "Baywatch" babe Pamela Anderson.

The show ended in a weepy wave of goodwill for Gosselin, who hadn't always been the recipient of the kindest of words on "Dancing."

"Considering what's been going on in your life, I have such admiration for the courage you have for participating in this competition," said her professional partner Tony Dovolani. "I give her all the credit in the world for showing up as exhausted as she was."

From the beginning of the season, her footwork had fallen far short of fancy.

Attempting to mimic Dovolani's puckish prancing in the first episode, Gosselin flailed through a classic Viennese waltz. The song was Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman to Me," but she looked more like a child just learning how to distinguish left from right.

Gosselin wore what looked like a leftover costume from the set of "I Dream of Jeanie," accessorized by a terrified expression -- as if her legs just might refuse to cooperate altogether.

They nearly did. Dovolani raged at Gosselin's lack of talent, venting that "Nothing in dancing is natural to Kate."

That didn't stop her from nagging her pro partner again and again about the moves.

"I've never been questioned in my teaching," he exploded. "I quit!"