Jon and Kate Plus 8, Official Thread-Part 4

[MichelleVW]

We just started watching this about 6 months ago & the one thing that really bugged me about last night's show was when they were all sitting on the bench to take their family pic, as soon as Jon sat down, Kate said "take off your sunglasses" to him. She didn't ask him, she TOLD him to do it. DH & I have been married for 16+ years & I don't ever just TELL him to do anything. It's just not a nice way to speak to anyone. He doesn't do it to me either. Married couples have to have mutual respect for each other!

Has she been sassy like that throughout the entire show? I would think that with the issues they're having, she would at least make an attempt to be nice to him & treat him like a grown-up instead of ordering him around like a child?

I don't think that was such a big idea.....if I wanted DH's sunglasses off in a picture I wouldn't ask either. But then again I'm bossy!

 

[Buckalew11]

And perhaps she wasn't asking...perhaps she wanted them off for the photo so she said, "Jon take your glasses off."

If she had said, "Jon, will you take your sunglasses off?" He may have thought it was optional. LOL He quickly obeyed, that was sure. He didn't hesitate in taking them off. He was probably going to take them off any way.

I think Jon has the type of personality that begs for someone to *mother* him. And when you have 8 kids, I think you might not know when to stop. Seriously, I don't it was Kate trying to be as bossy as it was perceived. I did, however, notice it while watching.

 

[Promomx2]

I apologize if this has already been posted, but I happened to stop channel surfing last night on Fox's O'Reilly. They were talking about Jon & kate. They all agreed that how this children are being treated can be considered abusive. Then O'Reilly said that J&K are no different than Michael Vick and dog fighting. Boy has this blown out of hand.

 

[1stluvispooh]

More about gum from last thread.



kate did give them gum when she needed to keep them quiet (on airplanes etc). Jodi watched the kids every Friday and on other occasions, all 6, sometimes 8 and she had kids of her own. Is gum against the law? They chewed it in Jodi's house. Who cares? Kids that age chew for about 3 seconds and then spit it out. It is not earth shattering or child abuse to give a 3 y/o gum (could be a choking hazard and *I* might be upset about that). Do you think Jodi gave them gum just to spite Kate? How about a thank you for free babysitting!

Here here!

 

[1stluvispooh]

I think everything kind of bugs Kate! But yes, I see what you mean as well.

As I have said before it's Kate's way or the highway. Ok actually it's a big fat meltdown, rant, scene until she gets her way or the other person grovels for forgiveness.

 

[mistydoodles]

did anyone see the early show interview with Kevin and Jodie? I have it on my dvr but haven't been able to watch it yet because I have to get the kids off to school. I just wonder how it went.

 

[1stluvispooh]

did anyone see the early show interview with Kevin and Jodie? I have it on my dvr but haven't been able to watch it yet because I have to get the kids off to school. I just wonder how it went.

They basically say the same things that have already been said. How everyone thought that at first when it was a documentary that it was a good idea and their memories of that time of the kids lives where being preserved but it soon turned into a business and all about ratings. That the vow renewal was all for ratings. That the kids have come up to Jodi and said that they don't like having the cameras around all the time,every time they do anything with there parents that the cameras are there. It was very hard for Kevin, he got emotional.

I felt that during the radar online interview was hard for Kevin to do as well. It just seemed hard for him to say publicly that he didn't agree with what his sister was doing with her life. Jodi I feel has talked this to death with her girlfriends, as we women have a tendency to do so the emotion is out of it for her. That's JMO

 

[newtodis]

Here's the link from The Early Show in case anyone missed it:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/26/earlyshow/living/chic_on_a_shoestring/main5039243.shtml

(CBS/ AP) Jon and Kate Gosselin arrived separately for their sextuplets' fifth birthday party. During the party, the spouses barely spoke to each other.

Clearly, the Gosselin marriage was under a strain as the fifth season started for the TLC series, "Jon & Kate Plus 8" with a two-hour show.

No wonder. The daily challenges of a super-size family with eight kids in the house have recently been overshadowed by recurring reports that Jon and Kate have cheated on each other and that their marriage is dysfunctional. Both deny the cheating allegations.

But on Monday's premiere (along with scenes from the party), Kate and Jon addressed the media firestorm that has engulfed them from beyond the carefully-tended boundaries of their own reality show.

"Did I ever think I'd see myself on the front of the tabloids?" said Kate indignantly. "Or see those words that are there? No. It kills me!"

And Jon, who insisted he was "being innocent and hanging out" despite reports of an affair with a 23-year-old schoolteacher, said, "I never read a tabloid magazine until I was in one. And the first one I bought was the last one I bought."

"I never cheated on Kate, and that's the way it is," he said bluntly. " ... I take full blame. I just didn't think it would escalate into what it's become."

"They had very little interaction between them" on the show Monday night, Dr. Lillian Glass, a psychologist and body language expert, told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Tuesday. "It was very sad to see. So sad. When you looked at Jon, he was very depressed looking, and he was leaning toward -- away from where the camera was. He was just so sad. And Kate was a bit defensive. When he was around her, she didn't acknowledge him. It was just so sad to see this couple."

Glass says Jon strikes her as a "broken man." "He's so sad," she observes.

Yet, she adds, she hopes Jon and Kate go for therapy, because Glass believes their marraige can be saved.

The Gosselins, Glass says, "were a loving couple initially. They had a lot of fun. They laughed a lot. But then, with the pressure, a lot happened. And as a result, it was just so sad to see it last night, because you really see a different Jon and Kate than you've ever seen before."

"(Kate) needs the money and this is a great income," Glass notes. "So she's between a rock and a hard place. But it would be ideal if they could live a normal life. (Kate) even talked about that on the show, that she'd really like to see some normalcy away from the paparazzi. And I just hope they get some counseling, because it could work out."

As Jon and Kate reflected during the show on the scandals that have made their lives so difficult and put their marriage in peril, the Gosselins were filmed individually, each seated alone on a sofa -- in itself, a revealing touch.

"Very swiftly, we turned into two different people," Kate said at one point, as she described how she has grown apart from her husband of 10 years, "and it's just hard."

While Kate has spent a lot of time on the road, making personal appearances for the show, Jon has mostly stayed home.

"So he's angry with me that he's home and I'm not," Kate said. "Yet he doesn't really feel great about me, so he wants me to travel.

"It is so involved I almost can't put it into words," she added wearily.

Kate expressed her own share of anger.

"I think the thing that makes me the maddest is: Jon made some mistakes and he was out and whatever, and that made people question him," she said. "I'm doing what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing. I'm working and traveling" - which led to reports that she was having an affair with her bodyguard.

Declaring that she was only doing her job by traveling, she said, "I'll be darned if they're going to take me down with that. I mean, just the allegations make me furious. And I need to change the subject because I makes me very mad."

"I have a lot of anger," she summed up, "because this is not where we were supposed to be, this is not what I envisioned for us."

"You see the anger," Glass says, "when she's yelling. When she's lashing out at the kids. She used to do it a lot with Jon. And that's what maybe caused this rift between them."

Crying, Kate pointed out that, "Parents of multiples have like triple the divorce rate. And (I thought) we were gonna beat that, but I don't know if I can say that anymore."

"We always love our kids," Jon said, "and we will come together for our kids, regardless of our relationship."

Premiering two years ago, "Jon & Kate" is TLC's most-watched show, and has made the Gosselins famous. The arrival of its new season was highly anticipated and highly promoted.

"Jon and Kate face each other for the first time," an announcer teased on an ad that aired repeatedly beforehand.

And so they did, sort of, as they sat side-by-side on the sofa in the episode's final seconds.

An off-camera voice asked, "Do you guys know what the future holds?"

Both of them looked puzzled. Neither replied. Then the episode was over. The season had started with lots of suspense.

 

[newtodis]

Sorry! This is the one with Kevin and Jodi from this morning.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/27/earlyshow/living/chic_on_a_shoestring/main5042654.shtml


(CBS) The eight children of Jon and Kate Gosselin are being exploited and viewed as commodities, all in the name of ratings, Kate's brother and sister-in-law charged on The Early Show Wednesday.

Kevin Kreider, Kate's younger brother, and Kreider's wife, Jodi Kreider, told co-anchor Harry Smith they're speaking out now because they think it's high-time for laws protecting children who appear in reality shows such as TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8." They say they want to be the "voice" of the Gosselin youngsters.

They say they're already seeing signs of adverse effects on the Gosselins' sextuplets and twins of having TV cameras constantly capturing the lives of all the Gosselin family members.

Tabloid reports claim the show is also impacting the Gosselin marriage. Both are said to be having or have had affairs. Both deny it.

All the controversy surrounding the show helped it draw record ratings Monday night for the premiere of its fifth season. Almost 10 million viewers tuned in, "good numbers for network TV, pure gold on cable," observes CBS News correspondent Michelle Gielan. "To put that in perspective, the show set a ratings record just two years ago with just under 3 millions viewers."

 

[newtodis]

As for the whole sunglasses thing, I would have told my DH to take them off as well. I only have two boys so I can't imagine eight but we only have (genreally) a couple of seconds once they get sat down to actually take the picture. Someone's always not looking, ready to get up, making a face, whatever. I try my darnedest to make sure the "big people" are as ready as they can be before we get the kids involved so it can be as quick and painless as possible. Mind you I'm sure they get their pictures taken often but so do my kids....I'm a "wannabe" photographer so I'm constantly snapping pictures of them so they're totally used to the camera (my camera) being in their faces.

I watched part of the rerun last night and really noticed how different Jon looked from the brown shirt to the blue shirt. Yikes! Also, I know this was discussed on the last thread, but when Alexis said she didn't want Jon to be gone anymore and Jon said he had to work, she kind of walked away to go play Jon kind of shrugged and I just thought it was strange like he just made it up to have her go away (not meaning he wanted her to go away, just that he probably didn't want to talk about it at the party or wasn't sure how else to word it for a little kid).

 

[Buckalew11]

I know. That shrug seemed to say, "whatever" or "so?" like he's gotta do what he's gotta do. That look on his face and the shrug really bothered me in that scene.

 

[auntie]

I admit I've only watched this show a few times. Just some thoughts.
I have no idea why viewers care this much about these people.
I'm also not a huge reality show fan..as I find that term inappropriate to the situation. As these programs are anything but "reality". It's exploitation.
Just my opinion, but I personally don't see either of these folks as parent of the year material. Having cameras in these kids faces every minute as they grow up..it's over the top. It's all about the money now. This isn't a documentary. These are people in it for the big bucks.$$$. Kates ticked because John may be tinkeling..that all down the drain.
I think it's sad that this is what these kids are going to look back on as a childhood. I've got to tell you, I don't see the allure. I mean I was interested as to the logistics of how do you care for 8 kids..and what kind of help they might have. How it all works..but the day to day..minute to minute details of their lives. Please...these folks keep this up..and those little cuties are headed down the same road their father is. Only Jon and Kate they will be up to their eyeballs in rebellion, drugs, and resentment. No amount of money will prepare them for it..and no amount of fame will make up for it. This couple should put their kids first..and stop this nonsense. Remember what it is to be a family..and JUST a family.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

Does anyone have a video link to the Kevin & Jodi interview this morning on the Early Show?

Nevermind, I found it:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5042669n

 

[happygirl]

Everyone is always saying how demanding and bossy Kate is and how bad she treats Jon, but in all fairness up until now Jon has wanted it. You can tell. You can tell Jon needs it and feeds off it. I believe in mutual respect and that a wife should never talk to her husband like that and vice versa, but I feel like Jon was really young when all of this started happening (twins at 23, sextuplets at 27) and he needed Kate's guidance and control. Kate just seems to take everything that's thrown at her and deal with it. She's focused and determined. And from what I've seen she's been the same way since they met, so this is nothing new for Jon. I think he just woke up and realized she's gone all the time, travelling, tanning and he's stuck at home with 8 kids and 2 dogs. Which as any stay at home mom would know, that can get tiring and monatenous, as much as you LOVE your kids, if you're seeing your spouse constantly leaving and experiencing all these things, you're gonna get tired of being home every day.

BUT there's no excuse for his actions. He knows he's on tv and he knows people are going to be watching his every move.. In my mind, he has given up.. He wants to live a little more. Which is sad but it is what it is, everyone is different.

But you can tell in old episodes that they were once very deep in love, and I truly hope someday he stumbles across one of those episodes and realizes how much he does love her and how amazing their life can be together.
They really need to take some time to be together and reconnect.

I wish them the best!

Very well said

 

[Gabes_mommy]

Here is my speculation on the Jon takes Kate's abuse thing...

In college I was friends with a guy for a few years and then our senior year he asked me on a date. I was confused by this because I am a very strong person and he was a weaker person. I told him that I was afraid if we dated I would end up dominating him and bossing him around. He actually told me that's what he wanted - that his mom is the strong one is his family and that was actually what he was looking for.

I know myself and I know that if I ended up with someone like that I would have been really mean to that person. I would have been mean because I would have slowly lost all respect for that person. A relationship like that would have brought out the side of myself that I can't stand.

I think this is exactly what happened with J & K. Initially Jon may have even wanted a dominating woman but over time Kate's domination gradually got meaner and meaner. Then Jon meets this young woman and starts a relationship with her (sexual or not - who knows?) and she empowered him and probably told him everything he wanted to hear. I think that's why he completely shut down. I don't think he's living in reality right now - more likely a fantasy world with a young girlfriend, a sportscar and lower responsibilities.

This is just my theory.

 

[madge]

Here's my question: How much longer can the show go on like this? If Jon really is living above the garage (allegedly!) and they're coming together just for the kids/taping of the show, and the clear and painful uncomfortable awkwardness of seeing them together continues, will there really be a season 6?

the show will go on as long as it does well in the ratings for TLC, I'd guess.

people/sheeple have been tuning in, unfazed by the departure from a show about the day to day life about the Gosselins. I can't see why they'd stop now.

IMO, they're going to somehow spin this season into Jon & Kate work through their marital issues moving to Kate + 8, with occasional appearances from Jon continuing through Season 6. They're contractually obligated through season 5, with an option for the next two seasons.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Have finally managed to read through all of those pages and caught up!

We're a couple of seasons behind over here so I can't comment about the episode - but i did watch the youtube clip of 'gumgate'.

I must be a really bad mum, becuase I probably would've reacted just like Kate - I would have been really p****d if my kids had been given gum at age 3! And I've also said once or twice I may need to bin toys/comforters if they have messed them/broken them and I can't clean them or fix them, but to me it's more of a 'if you really love this you have to be extra careful with it' way.

As for Jodi, it really just confirmed for me what I thought of her - what on earth was she thinking giving a bunch of 3yr olds gum and then walking away?

As for the new interview.........I just wish this jealous vindictive couple would stop trying to 'help' the children. If they were still on the show and getting the $$$ they wanted, I'm sure they'd find it all fine for the kids.

I just hope Jon and Kate are able to work this out, whether they stay together or not, in a way that has a minimal impact on the kids.

 

[happygirl]

How can Kevin and Jodi say anything about Jon and Kate when they say they haven't seen them in over a year?

 

[DMRick]

I felt that during the radar online interview was hard for Kevin to do as well. It just seemed hard for him to say publicly that he didn't agree with what his sister was doing with her life.

Perhaps by now he has had time to think about family loyalty. He was a part of all of this, and it's important to remember that he stopped being a part when Kate said no (supposedly) to his being paid. He admitted that that is why they stopped speaking. I take anything either of them say now with a grain of salt. They have to make themsleves look better, for what they are doing. Even if they were at one time people the kids could tell stuff to, once they repeated it on national TV, the kids won't be going to them anymore.

As I have said before it's Kate's way or the highway. Ok actually it's a big fat meltdown, rant, scene until she gets her way or the other person grovels for forgiveness.

I don't understand this. Which shows have this been on..Kate having a big rant, meltdown and scene until she gets her way ot the other person grovels for forgiveness?

Then O'Reilly said that J&K are no different than Michael Vick and dog fighting.

Oh, please. What a horrible comparison. That's how you get people to listen to you, make stuff up.

 

[happygirl]

Have finally managed to read through all of those pages and caught up!

We're a couple of seasons behind over here so I can't comment about the episode - but i did watch the youtube clip of 'gumgate'.

I must be a really bad mum, becuase I probably would've reacted just like Kate - I would have been really p****d if my kids had been given gum at age 3! And I've also said once or twice I may need to bin toys/comforters if they have messed them/broken them and I can't clean them or fix them, but to me it's more of a 'if you really love this you have to be extra careful with it' way.

As for Jodi, it really just confirmed for me what I thought of her - what on earth was she thinking giving a bunch of 3yr olds gum and then walking away?

As for the new interview.........I just wish this jealous vindictive couple would stop trying to 'help' the children. If they were still on the show and getting the $$$ they wanted, I'm sure they'd find it all fine for the kids.

I just hope Jon and Kate are able to work this out, whether they stay together or not, in a way that has a minimal impact on the kids.

Don't forget Jodi flat out lied about giving the kids gum