Kate Gosselin on 'Dancing With the Stars' Elimination: 'I Knew It Would Be Me'

April 21, 2010— -- Kate Gosselin said she was upset but not surprised to be voted off "Dancing With the Stars" Monday night, and that participating in the show during a custody battle for her children was "emotionally very hard, very draining, very scary."

"That's why you saw me the way you saw me," Gosselin said on "Good Morning America" today. "My kids come first, and their future is uncertain right now. Dancing feels … it was just, it had to be second place at that time."

Gosselin's ex-husband, Jon, is seeking primary physical custody of the eight Gosselin children, but when asked if she was concerned about losing custody, Gosselin said, "No … not at all."

She said she was disappointed to be involved in legal proceedings over custody because, initially, the two "divided the kids among us very peacefully" and she had hoped that 2010 would bring a fresh start.

"Life was exciting," she said. "It was very difficult to have to step back a couple of steps and then to dance six hours a day."

Gosselin and professional partner Tony Dovolani lasted until the halfway point of the 10th season of "Dancing With the Stars," despite consistently receiving harsh criticism and low scores from the judges.

"I knew it would be me," she said of her elimination.

Describing her emotional farewell on the show as "a mixed-emotions cry," Gosselin said, "I was sad that it was me … but I was happy that it was me and it wasn't anyone else.

"I wanted to learn more, I wanted to do more," she said, although adding, "I knew it was my day yesterday."

The reality-TV star said she would be happy to return home with her children, who were big fans of the show and hadn't yet learned that she'd been voted off.

"It was very hard for them to hear what the judges are saying," Gosselin said. "They weren't allowed to watch the judges' comments. It was hard for them to hear negative things about me. Of course, in their eyes, I was the best dancer."

They don't even know yet," she said, because they were asleep when the show aired. "They'll be happy that I'm going home with them, and I'll be home more with them."

Gosselin had been criticized for her participation in the show, because it required time away from her children. But she has maintained that she did it to support them and to set an example about hard work and trying new things.

'Dancing With the Stars' Drama: 'They Only Showed the Emotional Parts'

Dovolani said he was proud of Gosselin, and that footage of the two fighting during rehearsals told only part of the story.

"They only showed the emotional parts, but really, what we had was a lot of fun," he said.

Referring to an instance when he walked out of rehearsal saying, "I quit," Dovolani said "My dad always told me to take a breath and take a walk before you speak … maybe I shouldn't have spoken. It's definitely a great example for my kids that they shouldn't speak when they're angry."

Gosselin said she couldn't hide her true feelings during rehearsals.

"I can't walk into a dance studio and act," she said. "If I was exhausted, if I was stressed, if I was tired, that's what you saw."

She said she had a "great ride" on the show.

"It was a great adventure," she said. "It was exciting, and contrary to popular belief, I really enjoyed my time on 'Dancing With the Stars.' We laughed a lot of times until we cried. … I would roll on the floor laughing."

She also thanked her fans for their support.

"I am amazed that I lasted to just about halfway," she said. "It is due to my fans and viewers that believed in us. I'll take that with me always."

The former "Jon and Kate Plus 8" star will launch a new series on TLC in August called "Twist of Kate."

The show will feature Gosselin visiting parents across the country as they try to balance work, family and "other challenges life throws at them," according to the network.

Gosselin will also star in June in a series of specials called "Kate Plus 8" featuring her children.

Actor Aiden Turner Sent Home

Soap star Aiden Turner and his vivacious partner, Edyta Sliwinska, last week rumba'd their way off the dance floor .

"I feel I got robbed," the actor said on "Good Morning America."

"The judges really hated us," Sliwinska said.

Turner received a standing ovation from the crowd and bid an emotional farewell to the show and his professional partner, the only dancer to have appeared on all 10 seasons of "Dancing With the Stars."

"I just appreciate all the dance moves that she's given to me," he said on the show, tearing up.

Sliwinska called the response from the audience "amazing."

"That's why we do it," she said. "We don't really do it for the three judges. We do it for the audience. … It's really, really awesome to see that they gave a standing ovation to Aiden. ... It was harsh to be eliminated so early."

The judges are "either sitting on nails and they were grouchy … or we did something to them in our past life," Turner joked on "GMA." "They told me to be more carefree. I went out there and did everything that Len said."

Despite his early elimination, Turner said he's glad he appeared on the show.

"It's a big challenge," he said. "To be comfortable may feel good, but you've got to do things in life that put you out of your comfort zone. You've got to 'live like you're dying,'" he said, referring to the Tim McGraw song he performed to this week.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the second star to be sent home from "Dancing With the Stars."

"I'm very proud to have had the opportunity to inspire a number of us who are trying to keep very active," Aldrin said on "Good Morning America."

Despite his low scores, the fan favorite wowed the crowd with his performance, and his elimination was met with groans.

"I did this show for the fighter pilots out there, the military people and the elder geezers like me who would just like to see an elder come back week after week," Aldrin said on the show.

'Dancing With the Stars' Season 10 Kicks Off With a Bang

Shannen Doherty was the first star sent home from the 10th season of "Dancing With the Stars." The actress's father recently had a stroke, and, she said, "I did do this for him.

"My dad doesn't have his speech 100 percent back yet, but the first words he learned were, 'I love you,'" Doherty said on "Good Morning America." "He was crying, and he said, 'I love you and I'm proud of you.'"

After the first two nights of dancing, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger held the lead with 53 out of 60 possible points.

Scherzinger and partner Derek Hough earned the first 10s of the season from judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli for their jive. Tonioli called her performance "phenomenal."

"I have never seen a jive that good the second week," he said.Watch "Dancing With the Stars" Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

ABC News' Brian Braiker contributed to this report.