Jon Gosselin Spends Anniversary Weekend Away from Home

By Liza Hamm

06/16/2009 at 05:35 PM EDT

Jon Gosselin spent the weekend of his 10th wedding anniversary apart from wife Kate and their eight kids – another bad sign for the couple who have admitted their marriage is in trouble.

While Kate played with the kids on the lawn of the family's Wernersville, Penn., home on Saturday, Jon enjoyed a quick lunch with an older male friend about 150 miles away.

A waiter at the Stir Crazy Fresh Asian Grill in West Nyack, N.Y., tells PEOPLE that Gosselin sat in the back of the restaurant for about 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon. "He was shy and reserved," the waiter says.

But Jon obviously has his eight kids on his mind – and speed dial. "Jon was on the phone most of the time and was definitely talking to his kids," says the waiter.

Jon also browsed at a couple of the shops – Brooks Brothers and The Sports Authority – at the Palisades Center mall that day.

"He didn't look very happy," admits an employee at Brooks Brothers. "It looked like he just wanted to be left alone."

He returned home on Monday.

Jon, whose show Jon & Kate Plus Eight chronicles the Gosselin's adventures raising sextuplets and twins, has admitted he's been having a very hard time since becoming a reality star. "The show is our life, and our life is the show, which is the hardest part. How do you separate that?"

• KATHY EHRICH DOWD

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