Kate Gosselin Answers Absentee-Mom Statement by Ex-Husband's Lawyer

Kate Gosselin answered a recent assertion by ex-husband Jon Gosselin's lawyer that she is an "absentee" mom, saying she needs to work to support her family.

"I'm a working mom and cameras are on me, so people catch me traveling and working," the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star said on the Today show Tuesday. "I've got to work harder now than ever because I am a single mom and in my heart, I am always in my kitchen baking and cooking for my kids."

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Her statements came less than a week after her ex-husband filed for primary custody of their eight children. His attorney, Anthony F. List, called Kate, 34, "an absentee parent."

Kate defended her busy schedule, which includes promotion for her new book, I Just Want You to Know, as well as her stint on Dancing with the Stars, but conceded she wishes she were home more with her children. She didn't offer the detail of who's taking care of them while she's gone.

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"I have to work. I have to provide for them. It's a struggle that every working mom, especially single moms, go through," Gosselin told Today's Meredith Vieira. "I make the most of every minute I do have with them."

Kate also responded to US Magazine and PopEater reports of tension between her and Dancing with the Stars' contestants and crew, saying she thinks she will stay in touch with many of them after the season ends. "It is like a big family unit," she said. "I laugh so hard when I'm with them."

Also ahead for Gosselin is her new TLC series, Twist of Kate, which is scheduled to premiere this summer.