"Jon & Kate Plus 8" has a plus-one problem.

A 23-year-old named Deanna Hummel is at the center of a firestorm over allegations that she is the mistress of reality-show super-dad Jon Gosselin. Speaking on the "Today" show on Thursday, Kate Gosselin stood by her man — who US Weekly says has been carrying on a three-month-long romance with elementary schoolteacher Hummel.

"We just need to weather this storm, just like all the other storms that we’ve been through," Kate Gosselin told "Today’s" Meredith Vieira in New York. The tabloid attention and paparazzi have come as something of a surprise to her, she added:

It is so public. It’s one of the things we did not envision when we started our show. It’s one of the things that comes with it — the tabloid stuff. To be very honest, I’m very hesitant to believe any of it. It comes with the territory. We’re dealing with it just like everybody else does.

Gosselin also said she takes all the stories about her marriage with "a grain of salt" since "people are being paid to talk." In response to Gosselin’s claim, Us Weekly said on their website that no one was paid for the interviews.

Us Weekly published a story yesterday that gave details about the affair. Last week, Us also ran a story and photos showing Jon out with a "mystery" woman, while Kate was out promoting her new book, Eight Little Faces.

The magazine’s "most reliable source" is Hummel’s older brother, Jason, with whom she lives.

Deanna Hummel fired back at her brother in People magazine, saying, "My brother is making this all up. I can’t even stomach the lies he’s saying about me."

Kate was scheduled for "The Today Show" to talk about her new book, which came out April 19. Instead, the interview mostly focused on these recent allegations.

TLC issued this statement on behalf of Jon Gosselin, who was originally supposed to appear on the show with Kate but decided it was best to stay home with the eight children. The statement, which denied the allegations, read:

These allegations are false and just plain hurtful. As I adjust to the attention that comes from being in the public eye, I need to be more careful and aware of who I am associating with and where I am spending my time. But the bottom line is, I did not cheat on Kate … My family is my top priority.

The seventh season of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" airs May 25 on TLC, but don’t expect to watch Jon and Kate address the affair.

"We’re dealing with it privately," Gosselin told Vieria. "It’s kind of ironic to say that, because we do have a reality show. People see the good, the bad and the ugly. But there are those things that we keep to ourselves. And we’re working through it together, and that’s the important thing."

Watch Kate Gosselin on "The Today Show":