TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 episode, in which the couple announced their separation, drew 10.6 million viewers Monday, setting a new ratings record for cable channel TLC. Of that number, 6.5 million were adults 18-49, the demo group most prized by advertisers. (In reporting the ratings results, Reuters commented Tuesday, "If misery loves company, then reality TV couple Jon and Kate Gosselin had plenty of both Monday night.") By contrast, the highest-rated show on the broadcast networks was CBS's Two and a Half Men, which drew 8.57 million viewers. The Jon & Kate episode aired on the same day that Kate Gosselin filed divorce papers in Pennsylvania. Several reporters who saw the papers noted that she had ticked a check box asking whether she and her husband have lived apart for at least two years. "So this reality show has been a ruse," commented syndicated Orlando Sentinel TV columnist Hal Boedeker. On E! Online, celebrity writer Natalie Finn asked, "Have Jon and Kate Gosselin been forcing those camera-ready smiles for some time?" But the celebrity gossip site TMZ, which is operated by attorney Harvey Levin, explained that Kate may have checked off the box in order "to get the clock ticking." In Pennsylvania, TMZ explained, a no-fault divorce can be granted in 90 days if both sides agree that the marriage is "irretrievably broken" or if they live apart for two years. "Jon may not agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken. If that's the case, she has to wait the two years," the website explained.

UPDATE: 10.6 Million Watch Gosselin Break-Up -New York Times