Wow, that was one chilly season premiere.
TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" returned for a new season tonight and didn't ignore their tabloid tainted off-camera lives. The show confronted the elephant in the room up front with about 15 minutes of interviews with Jon and Kate individually. Then the show teased their first interview sitting together. Viewers had to wait through a fifth birthday party for the sextuplets -- scoped out by paparazzi -- to get to that.
An off-camera producer asked the pair what the future holds. Jon and Kate sat there almost immobile.
"I'm here," Kate Gosselin said. "I'm here every miniute that working doesn't require me to be away. I can't speak for anyone but myself."
"I'm here for my kids," Jon said.
Put a fork in it, this marriage is done. Of course it's sad, but the moment the Gosselins allowed TV cameras into their lives, it was inevitable that they could become entertainment fodder.
Kate called the birthday party bittersweet and then began crying.
"I remember thinking this possibly could be our last family picture so I knew it was important to do," she said. "I was thinking back five years ago and realizing parents of multiples have triple the divorce rate and thinking we were going to beat that, but I don't know if I can say that anymore. Very swiftly we turned into two different people and it's just hard. I've tried for six months to figure out what the problem is or remedy the problem. I don't know. It's so complicated and so it's just difficult."
"We will come together for our kids regardless of our relationship," Jon said. "We have to make a plan and decide jointly what we're going to do. As long as our kids are safe and happy here, they'll be well taken care of and loved."
Jon definitely comes off as having a chip on his shoulder about Kate's globetrotting on behalf of the show. He still claims he didn't cheat on his wife but I got the sense she does not believe him.
"I have a lot of anger," Kate said. "He's made some very poor decisions and we all have to live with them."
"I've been dealing with this for probably six months now and maybe even longer if I'm being really honest, seeing him slowly resent his duties," Kate said. "I know it's a lot taking care of eight kids. I'm traveling a lot, he's here a lot."
Kate acknowledged she's been hard on Jon, noting viewers have seen her behavior on the show, but she doesn't let him off the hook.
"Have I pushed him to this?" she said. "I don't believe I have because I feel everyone is responsible for their own actions."
"It's hard to picture things in the future because we're going in two different directions right now," Jon said before suggesting that as long as he and Kate can remain friends "whether you're married or not married" it will be good for the kids.
Earlier in the 90-minute episode, Jon showed up to the birthday party and, at least as the episode was edited, Kate gave him a total cold shoulder. She didn't look at him when he arrived at the park, she didn't talk to him, she ran off complaining she was cold. When she did talk to him, it was give him an order.
"Daddy, I don't want you to leave anymore," said one of the children.
As I've said before, parents who put their children on TV reality shows do them a huge disservice. An argument can even be made that it's a form of emotional or psychological child abuse. What's going on now with Jon and Kate is just the latest example of the pitfalls of such irresponsible actions.
Posted
May 25 2009, 09:55 PM
by
Rob Owen