Kate Gosselin opens up to Dr. Oz.
Kate Gosselin is showing her more vulnerable side.
The 41-year-old Kate Plus 8 star made an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, airing Thursday, in which she talks about all the drama surrounding her personal life and how false tabloid reports have affected her. Kate admits she's "messed up" in the past, but says that she strives to teach her eight children how to respond to difficult situations.
"I mess up, yet it's out of love for my kids that I say, 'whooo, I messed up. I need to get better at that,'" a clearly emotional Kate tells Dr. Oz in a sneak preview of the episode. "I mean, my life is my kids and there just wouldn't be Kate Gosselin if it wasn't for my kids. Everything I do [is] for them. I mean, being on TV is not easy. Having tabloids written about you constantly is not easy."
Although she doesn't refer to her ex-husband by name -- 39-year-old Jon Gosselin -- she does take a not-so-subtle dig at him during the interview.
"Having an ex-husband who doesn't see the value in uplifting his children and his family, whether he chooses to be on the show or not, is extremely difficult," she continues. "But I can't change those things. All I can change is me and my response and what I teach my children about it."
Kate admits that false tabloid reports constantly written about her have "drained" her.
"I'm a very visual person, so your emotional and psychological energy, like, I do actually picture it as a barrel of energy, this stuff just eats -- it drags you down," she explains. "It eats away at you. It drains your physical energy."
"It's probably the most difficult part, because I could sit here and do every talk show and every news show every day for the rest of my life, and what's so upsetting is that there's still going to be a percentage of people that still can't tell the true me from the tabloid picture they've created," she notes. "And that angers me, and that angers me even more when it affects my children and it talks about them."
Kate and Jon split in 2009, and have continued to make headlines due to their less-than-amicable relationship. ET spoke to Jon last month, when he claimed Kate was "trying to remove him from the family." Jon has shared physical custody of their children -- 16-year-old twins, Cara and Madelyn, and 12-year-old sextuplets, Aaden, Collin, Joel, Leah, Alexis and Hannah -- while Kate has full legal custody.
WATCH: EXCLUSIVE -- Jon Gosselin Talks Estrangement From His Kids
Jon told us he couldn't see the two of them ever being able to co-parent in the future.
"I have a desire to for the kids, but I mean, the way it's going, it's just like, she's trying to actively remove me from the family, like finding a new dad for them," he said.
Watch below: