We’ve heard stories recently that Kate Gosselin spanked her children with a wooden spoon for minor things when they were just two years old. Kate supposedly admitted this in computer diaries she kept while she was taking notes for her book. A journalist friend of her ex, Jon Gosselin, somehow came onto a computer hard drive he claims he found in the “trash,” on which he allegedly found these revealing diary entries. Since he’s been unable to sell his reportedly lousy book on Amazon, journalist Robert Hoffman is selling details to the tabloids. He tells the new issue of Star that Kate abused the family’s two German Shepherd dogs, wouldn’t feed them and forced them to sit in their own filth in their crates. Jon and/or Kate eventually gave the dogs back to the breeder. Of course all this information is coming straight from Jon.

Robert Hoffman, the journalist who became close to Kate’s ex, Jon Gosselin tells the new issue of Star magazine that he allegedly witnessed Kate’s appalling behavior to the German shepherds, Nala and Shoka, that the family kept as pets but eventually gave away.

“Kate left the family dogs in their cages behind the house for hours on end with no food,” says Hoffman, who authored the controversial book Kate Gosselin: How She Fooled the World.

When Jon and Kate first split up, they would take turns staying at the house with the children, and Hoffman claims that Jon told him that when he would show up after being away for a few days, he’d find the starving dogs living in filth.

“She never cleaned the cages,” says Hoffman. “Jon would return to find them filled with urine, poop and puke. I saw vomit in them.”

Kate not only allegedly let the poor animals live in horrendous conditions, according to Hoffman, she also hit them. “She would knock them over the head and yell,” claims Hoffman. “The abuse caused Nala to become very resistant to Kate, so that any time she came around, Nala growled. After a while, Kate began to fear she’d be attacked, so she sent the dog back to the breeder.”

The Gosselin matriarch was also reportedly very careless about leaving stuff that the dogs shouldn’t eat lying around, including some plastic Easter eggs that the animals apparently couldn’t resist.

“There was an entire bag of them in the garbage,” Hoffman says. “Shoka was up to his waist inside of it.” After one piece of plastic too many, the poor pooch reportedly had to be rushed to the vet’s office for an emergency visit.

Hoffman claims that Kate never wanted dogs, but supposedly agreed to get them solely for the sake of better ratings for the family’s show. “The kids had been begging for pets for years but Kate was adamantly against it, until the show needed content for an episode,” Hoffman writes. “She was only nice to the dogs for the camera. As soon as filming was done, she never wanted anything to do with them. She’d tell Jon, ‘They’re yours… I’m not taking care of them.’”

For more exclusive details about the alleged shocking way Kate treated the defenseless family dogs pick up the latest issue of Star magazine on newsstands Thursday.

If this is true, and I don’t doubt it, it’s despicable to abuse animals and to not to give them food and regular exercise. But – the original story was that Jon sent the dogs back to the breeder, not Kate. We covered this story back when it happened in the fall of 2009, and at that time a “source” aka Kate Gosselin, told Radar (which is paraphrasing here) that “The dogs have always been Jon’s and while Kate was willing to do whatever she had to she simply can’t handle them and Jon didn’t make any other arrangements for them to be taken care of. He now lives in an apartment in New York City and never considered getting a place where he could keep his dogs.” So Jon went off to NY City with the daughter of his wife’s plastic surgeon (here’s how that turned out) and didn’t take the dogs with him, and Kate was pissed and took it out on some gentle innocent creatures. Still despicable and awful, but it’s not like Jon couldn’t have kept his German Shepherds if he wanted to.

Jon Gosselin, his kids and his dogs are shown out on 9/15/09 and 9/7/09. Credit: INFPhoto.com. Photos of Kate from 9/13/12. Credit: FameFlynet

Once a successful reality TV star, Jon Gosselin''s fame and fortune have gone the way of his marriage, leaving him unable to even pay the bills.

So says Jon himself, allegedly, to Star Magazine.

"I can''t afford to pay rent and the domestic-relations staff say they will put me in jail unless I pay child support,” Jon, 35, is quoted as saying.

“I am a single father who’s trying to make ends meet during a recession. What do I do - pay child support or rent? Obviously I need to support my kids. I could lose my house, though, and need my home to continue to have custody."

"I decided to take the high road and quit reality television and now look, I''m could end up in jail because I can''t afford to pay child support to Kate who has plenty of money," the former star complained, laughably, as if TLC didn''t fire him.

“I’m doing the best I can, but life is expensive with eight kids!"

Hey, the Octomom porn is putting food on her kids'' table. Maybe Jon should grow a pair and show it in his own adult film? Okay, maybe not.

In any event, holding down a job and making ends meet has been a difficult task for Jon, even if he and Kate Gosselin are on better terms.

Speaking of which, Jon doesn''t support her new career path.

"I think this is completely ridiculous! We have eight children and they need us, and she is putting reality TV and dating in front of the kids," he says.

Jon, who is now dating Liz Jannetta, adds that, "I know I have a lot to be thankful for, but Kate''s need to be famous is not one of them."

[Photo: WENN.com]

Kate Gosselin''s missing the bygone era when she was a reality TV star traveling the world with her brood, according to a recent Twitter missive. So much so, she even watches old episodes of the old days ... we can''t decide if that''s sweetly nostalgic or just sad.

The mother of eight Tweeted:

"Wow. We all agreed: we miss our show & the adventures and huge opportunities to help and entertain :) others! Why am I watching and crying??!"

"We are watching the St Jude''s episode... I am crying... Happy and sad tears... Old episodes of Jon & Kate +8 warms our hearts..." Kate later added.

Gosselin''s popularity, once in the celebrity gossip stratosphere, plummeted to the point that a cruise featuring her was axed due to lack of interest.

Kate now blogs for the random online site Coupon Cabin dot com.

On the plus side, she''s made peace with her ex, and Jon Gosselin even sent her a long-overdue apology for the way he''s behaved over the years.

When it comes to burying the hatchet, better late than never!

[Photo: WENN.com]

Welcome to THG''s Week in Review! Below, our staffers look back at the stories, stars and scandals that made the last seven days some of the craziest all year.

If you don''t already, FOLLOW THG on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook for news 24/7/365. Let us be your celebrity gossip source across the board!

Now, a rundown of the week that was at The Hollywood Gossip:

Making the School Bus Monitor Cry

• Bus monitor Karen Klein became a cause celebre via the video above.
• More than $440,000 in donations were raised for the bullying victim.
• Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis split up after 14 years together.
• Rielle Hunter and John Edwards are apparently still together. Ick.
• If you really want to, check out the Octomom porn trailer below:

Octomom Porn Trailer: ''Home Alone''

• Jon Gosselin apologized to Kate Gosselin and they buried the hatchet!
• Demi Moore and Joe Manganiello were romantically linked ... falsely.
• Shaunie O''Neal denied blame for any Basketball Wives firings.
• Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheridge got married in Hawaii.
• Was the Kim Kardashian sex tape staged by Kris Jenner?
• Probably not, but Kim is krushing hard on Kanye.

Justin Bieber: What''s the Sistine Chapel?

• Justin Bieber got a little history lesson from David Letterman (above).
• Shia LaBeouf appeared, naked, in this random music video.
• Will Casey Anthony''s diaries be turned into a new book?
• This crazy Miley Cyrus tattoo guy as 15 ... all of her.
• Check out Angelina Jolie as Maleficent in this pic!
• Ann Curry may be getting sacked by Today.

Breaking Dawn Part 2: Trailer #2

• The latest Breaking Dawn Part 2 trailer was released ... and awesome.
• It was an even crazier week than usual on The Real Housewives of OC.
• Jenny McCarthy revealed a hilarious (and sensual) texting faux pas.
• Alec Baldwin attacked a photographer on the streets of New York City.
• Is Arie Luyendyk, Jr., engaged to The Bachelorette''s Emily Maynard?
• Check out The Bachelorette spoilers (and promo below) for hints.

The Bachelorette Season 8, Episode 7 Promo

• Are Chris Brown and Rihanna rendezvousing secretly in NYC hotels?
• Unclear, but his brawl with Drake got W.i.P. nightclub shut down.
• Lil Wayne wants Drake to quash the beef ASAP, meanwhile.
• These Kate Upton bikini photos in GQ were really hot ...
• ... and so was the behind-the-scenes video:

Kate Upton GQ Photo Shoot

What was the highlight of the week for you? Did we leave anything out?

Doting a tasty week-ending treat unto her sizable brood, Kate Gosselin treated the kids to their own little scoop of heaven from Rita''s Ice Cream in Wernersville, Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon (June 22).

After grabbing up a few packages from a local UPS store, the former TLC reality star mom then took to Rita''s while assisted by ttwin daughter Mady in carrying the two trayfuls of ice cream cups out to the family van.

Miss Gosselin''s midday outing comes on the heels of a new interview given by her ex hubby, Jon Gosselin, as he actually offered up an apology to his former wife while talking with People magazine.

The 35-year-old father opened up about his post-divorce behavior, saying, “"I am sorry, because I did stuff I wouldn''t want done to me."

Continuing on to accept responsibility for the split, Jon added, “"I was passive-aggressive," he says. "Then I''d get mad, but I was the one who wasn''t communicating."

Taking life into a new perspective, Gosselin finished by telling, “"I used to talk Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Michael Jackson''s rabbi) a lot when I lived in New York. He said, ''There are two things you can do with your fame – sell out or take it and use it for good.'' I didn''t grasp that at the time."

An apologetic, introspective Jon Gosselin says he and Kate are getting along well now, and he can''t believe how he acted after they broke up ... yes, seriously!

"I am sorry, because I did stuff I wouldn''t want done to me," he says.

Referring to the parade of women he dated right after they split, and to his preening for attention from celebrity news sites and TV stations, Jon is ashamed.

He accepts his share of responsibility and then some, saying: "I was passive-aggressive. Then I''d get mad, but I was the one who wasn''t communicating."

At least nowadays, he says he and Kate Gosselin are on good terms.

"I''ll call [Kate] up and say, ''Mady''s sick. What do I do?'' And she''ll tell me," he says. "She''s a great Mom. We just have different parenting styles."

Jon Gosselin, 35, is back in Berks County, Pa., living close to Kate, who also opened up recently and said that after two years, she''s made peace with Jon.

Having bounced around jobs, he recently took one as director of sales and promotions for Gameface Int. and started dating single mom Liz Jannetta, 27.

Time and counseling have helped him get a grip, he tells People.

"There are two things you can do with your fame – sell out or take it and use it for good ... I didn''t grasp that at the time [of the divorce]," Jon notes. 

Who is this guy and what did he do with Jon Gosselin??

After a messy divorce with his ex-wife Kate, Jon Gosselin is finally ready to say “I’m sorry.”

In a recent interview with People, the 35-year-old father opened up about his post-divorce behavior saying, “"I am sorry, because I did stuff I wouldn''t want done to me,” and said he accepts responsibility for the split adding, “"I was passive-aggressive," he says. "Then I''d get mad, but I was the one who wasn''t communicating."

After moving around the country, the former reality star moved back to Berks County, PA and took a new job as director of sales and promotions for Gameface Int. He’s also dating single mom Liz Jannetta.

Taking life into a new perspective Gosselin said, “"I used to talk Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Michael Jackson''s rabbi) a lot when I lived in New York," adding. “He said, ''There are two things you can do with your fame – sell out or take it and use it for good.'' I didn''t grasp that at the time."

As for returning back into the world of entertainment, he said, “I''ve been offered a lot of stuff. Crazy stuff. It wasn''t the right fit, then or now. I don''t want [my kids] thinking I take every show just to make a buck."

Jon Gosselin has fallen behind on his child support payments to his ex-wife Kate Gosselin again, according to a tabloid report, to the tune of $3,557.06.

That''s far less than the amount Levi Johnston is accused of owing for just one child, but it''s enough to mean legal consequences for Jon just the same.

The former Jon & Kate Plus 8 reality star has eight kids he is required to support by law, and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Child Welfare is calling him out.

Kate Gosselin seemed blindsided by the fact that Jon was going to go back to court for non-payment of child support after a Twitter follower alerted her.

“I don''t know if he''s going to court but wouldn''t surprise me.... How do you know this stuff?!?” she wrote but quickly stopped engaging the follower:

“Woah....I''m not allowed to talk about orders from the court.…"

Probably smart. Since TLC canned their show, Kate has been working as a blogger for CouponCabin (dot) com while Jon has been working construction.

Their contentious relationship often involves slamming each other on Twitter, but if Jon really does owe back child support, a real battle could erupt.