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Kate Gosselin and her eight kids cover this week’s issue of PEOPLE magazine two years after they bid farewell to a lucrative gig on reality television.

Twins Maddie and Cara are hovering close to their teenage years at 12 and sextuplets Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Joel, Leah and Aaden are nine.

As for Gosselin, she claims that things are definitely different, “I’m living very carefully these days … piecing and patching together an income from a variety of sources.”

Life after ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ followed by ‘Kate Plus 8’ has been daunting from a financial perspective. Gosselin confirms, “To not have a reliable income is scary.”

Kate acknowledges that her inner diva got the best of her and ultimately drove the TLC ratings into free fall. She states emphatically, “I made so many mistakes.”

Having had a few years to put things into proper perspective, the mother of eight reflects, “It feels like a whole other lifetime. Sometimes I don’t even remember much of when the babies were first born and again during the divorce.”

“I was in survival mode. I feel like I’ve lived two lifetimes already.” She is sure about one thing, “I’m not the same person I was … I don’t even recognize her.”

The Gosselin issue hits newsstands Friday. According to the mag cover, the kids tell all!

Photo: PEOPLE