Jon & Kate Plus 8 - The First 10 Years
Categories: Life & Style, Celeb Parenting
Before we move onto the next chapter in the life of the Gosselin family, it's time to look back and reminisce about how we got here. Last night's episode of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" took us back in time -- 10 years, in fact, to the very beginning of the couple's marriage. This retrospective could provide Jon and Kate answers as to what has gone wrong in their marriage, giving them points to focus on if they decide to try again.
On the other hand, some of these memories seemed to highlight exactly why they don't want to be together anymore.
Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus 8
Is it splitsville for the Gosselins?
Kate Gosselin, star of TLC's hit show "Jon & Kate Plus 8," speaks Wednesday May 13, 2009, at the Frauenthal Center in Muskegon, Mich. We may be seeing a lot more of Kate solo, now that her marriage is collapsing.
Dave Raczkowski, MLIVE.com / AP
Jon and Kate Gosselin of the hit TLC show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" film an episode where they receive their own choppers (motorcycles) from the Orange County Choppers of the other TLC show, "American Chopper." The Gosselins go for a ride with the "American Chopper" cast before Kate later takes her custom pink bike for a ride of her own. All the while their children wander about the front lawn, not receiving much attention.
Bauer-Griffin
Over the past five years, Kate Gosselin's life has gone from miracle mom to reality TV train wreck. What's next for Gosselin and her family? Maybe a return to something closer to normal. Here, Gosselin is spotted pushing around one of her daughters in a shopping cart at Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Bauer-Griffin
Kate Gosselin, seen here promoting her book "Multiple Blessings," seems to have made a life for herself that doesn't include husband Jon, who is reported to have been having an affair. But what about the kids?
David Livingston, Getty Images
Once upon a time, not so long ago, the Gosselins were our favorite reality tv family. It was hard not to love them -- after all, we all know how parenting changes us.
Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you had one more child? How about two more? How about SIX more?
Four years ago, Jon and Kate Gosselin went from being parents of two to parents of eight, and their lives have never been the same.
Getty Images
Today we all have a window into that life on TLC's Jon and Kate Plus 8. And of course, part of peeking into someone else's life is hypothesizing how we might do things differently or better, because it's always easy to imagine what you would do in someone else's shoes.
What is harder to imagine is what it would really be like to walk in those other shoes -- what's it like to wake up every morning and be Kate Gosselin? ParentDish had a chance to ask her just that recently.
TLC.Discovery.com
In a normal week, the Gosselins have a television crew in their house about half the time, which is a lot, if you think about it. And while they will occasionally opt out of filming specific moments with their kids, the Gosselins have no editorial control over the show -- what you see is what you get, packaged by a team of folks at Discovery and TLC. But, Kate says, this is reality TV, and it accurately reflects life at the Gosselin house; nothing is pre-planned or made up. "We don't have time to memorize scripts," she jokes.
I believe that.
"We set out to show the truth," Kate says, "I couldn't watch it if it weren't true." What you see, in every televised moment, is precisely what is happening -- no stage directions or do-overs. This is life at the Gosselin house.
Getty Images
Kate Gosselin has gotten quite a bit of flak, both from the media and from viewers, for the way she treats her husband; the two are often shown bickering during the show. Kate says the criticisms don't bother her; she doesn't Google herself or make a practice of reading about herself on or off line. "Everyone has an opinion," she says, "and I'm only paying attention to my own." But she does admit that the way the show is edited affects how people see her family and her marriage. "If Jon and I have three spats over a two day period, they're going to edit it to make it look like those happened in the 22 minute period." The show is just a small slice of her family's life, after all.
TLC.Discovery.com
Kate is clearly focused not on what goes on outside her family but on her children. Her goal, she says, is to treat each child like an only child -- a hard thing to do when you're the mom of eight. "I hold myself to a very high standard," she says. At the same time, though, she's not trying to be perfect, or even to appear perfect to viewers of the show. She's just living her life.
And yes, she's living it with television cameras in her house, but it's still her real life. Kate says that while the experience of being on television has changed her life, it hasn't changed who she is. She says the same about having eight children -- "It's hard to live through what we have lived through and not change. We are the same -- it's how people treat us" that is different.
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One of the hardest things about her family, Kate says, is the noise; there are days when the older girls, Cara and Mady, come home from school and their reports about what they have done are drowned out by the noise of the sextuplets. More than anything, she says, she longs for peace and quiet -- otherwise, she would not change a thing about her life.
Getty Images
High school sweethearts who married very young, Jon and Kate almost immediately became parents to twins, Cara and Mady. Kate loved the whirlwind of being a newlywed mom of twins, but Jon seemed to wish he were elsewhere (a frat house, possibly).
As soon as the twins turn one, Kate wants another baby, although Jon mutters he was getting sick of hearing her talk about it. Maybe he should have spoken up a bit more forcefully, because Kate is already down at the fertility doctor's office, and then next thing they know they're looking at an ultrasound of six babies.
Kate was hospitalized and on bed rest during her pregnancy with the sextuplets, but even then Jon doesn't seem to get it. When she goes into labor and calls him, at 4:00 a.m., to ask if he's ready, he replies, "For what?"
As the sextuplets become toddlers, we see how each child's personality differs from the others. Alexis is loud and takes charge. Hannah is always there to help. Aaden loves animals. Collin is a bit obsessive-compulsive. Leah is cute and little. Joel whines and loves fashion, and he inspires Kate to say that she is sure he will find "a woman someday who falls in love with his looks, and then she'll marry him, and then she'll realize how clueless he is." Was she talking about Joel or Jon?
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TLC gave us a look back back at quality family time last night: We remember when Jon made a Korean dinner for his first attempt at cooking anything besides breakfast for the whole family, to introduce his heritage to the kids. Discouraged by having to spend $100 to take the entire family to the movies, they have a chaotic movie night at home, complete with popcorn (Newman's Own organic, of course!).
There's also family camping fun with an adorable montage of the kids roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores. Both Jon and Kate comment on how much fun they had camping out in the backyard. Maybe if they had done that more often, things might be different today.
Then there are the family trips: The Utah ski trip and the infernal plane ride to get there, Hawaii (notice there were no reminders of their vow renewal there), the beach in North Carolina, and the visit to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis where the kids picked out Christmas gifts for the St. Jude patients.
We also revisited the the children's milestones: First poops (complete with pictures that gross Jon out), first bike rides, first words and first dentist visits. More changes include Kate's hair (lighter and lighter), houses (bigger and bigger), and dogs (Kate's attitude gets snootier and snootier).
The biggest change in the Gosselins' lives, of course, is the failure of Jon and Kate's marriage. Scenes from the past of Jon complaining that he can't be himself and Kate saying they're in an "odd place" illustrate how they came to the decision to end their marriage. Kate hopes this will bring peace for the kids. Maybe the best way to bring peace for the kids is to quit having a camera crew follow them around all the time, but since, as Kate said, "the show must go on," that doesn't seem to be a possibility.
"Jon & Kate Plus 8" is on hiatus until August, while the Gosselins sort out their family issues. Will you be tuning in when the show returns, or have you seen enough?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LMillner 6-30-2009 @ 1:45PM
I, personally, have had enough. I have read the blog and I have seen all the eposides and I have to totally agree with what was said between all the lines. I feel that Jon has been belittled enough and the kids have had too many cameras in their little faces. Come on'....let go. Hopefully they were smart enough to put away a good sum of the TV monies received from their show....if not, well, that should tell you something...but who knew the show "must NOT go on?"!
Liz M.
Kirkland, WA
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HOLLY 6-30-2009 @ 2:36PM
DEANNA (JON'S SUPPOSED GIRLFRIEND) DID NOT RUIN THE MARRIAGE - KATE DID! LIKE YOU SAID SHE BELITTLES HIM AND TALKS TO HIM LIKE HE IS A YOUNG CHILD. I'M GLAD THAT JON IS EXCITED ABOUT HIS NEW LIFE - WITHOUT KATE, BUT THAT DOESNT MEAN WITHOUT THE KIDS - YOU CAN TELL HE LOVES THOSE KIDS - WONDER NOW WHAT KIND OF CUSTODY BATTLE THEY WILL BE GOING THRU!!
Melissa 6-30-2009 @ 3:23PM
Holly:
I'm guessing you're friends with this girl Deanna, or you've been involved with a married man yourself. Maybe Kate belittleed him, but maybe if he wasn't such a little punk ass bastard she wouldn't have to. It takes two people to make a marriage work, and it takes two people to make it fail. This supposed girlfriend of his didn't break up their marriage, but his cheating sure didn't help the marriage!
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Debs 7-01-2009 @ 5:03AM
Melissa, You go girl!!
Deborah, Wake up and smell the coffee. It takes two ... and I'd lose my patience if I had to explain every request to him (since he likes to play dumb so often), as well as get him to grow up and function as an adult. He's lied and karma will have his kids resenting him as soon as they can google what happened. Shame on you, Jon!
toni 7-07-2009 @ 9:49AM
godd bless both of you to realize that not just kate ruined this. it wasnt because she was so 'mean' to him throughtout there marriage..which i dont think so, yes she was strict but i mean she had twins&sextuplets..8 kids! and a husband who didnt manage his kids when he needed to..he was to chill. also he turned out to just leave his kids and go to bars and cheatt on kate. i think they made a good change and now i think kate will be a happier person.
...*holly, you dont know what your talking bout and if you think typing in caps will make people belive you, they wont. you obviously dont know anything bout the show. kate didnt ruin the marraige she isnt the one that gave up, jon did and that made kate get sick and tired of the way jon was acting and BOTH of them decied to get a divoce. of course kate didnt want it , i mean who usually does? but she did it becuase of course.. she was doing what was right for her and her kids.
Bobbie 6-30-2009 @ 3:44PM
This used to be among my favorite shows. Now, I just can't stand to watch it anymore. It's just too depressing. I can't honestly claim to opine about who's at fault, but I think they BOTH need to grow up and realize their committment to their kids has nothing to do with an arrangement that will bring peace, but a major attitude adjustment--one that takes the focus of themselves and puts it back on their responsibilities to their kids. Sure, it's hard to let go of the money they have been earning and their celebrity, but they both need to come down from the clouds and come in for a landing, already. Those children are adults in the making, and if they don't stop the show now and re-focus on raising their children, one day we might see a reality show about the Gosselin children in therapy--with the first episode possibly featuring Mady.
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Ms. Max 6-30-2009 @ 11:20PM
I enjoy the show love watching the kids, they are adorable. Kate and Jon are two different people, if both were the same the kids would not have good parenting, there have to be one that can take control, and Kate is that one Jon is like a child he does not mind playing with the kids but to physically care for them is not his forte. I pray that they will work their differences out, from watching the show you can see where Kate is very particular, care and LOVES her children very much and you can see that she is still in love with Jon, she is hurting. I do believe that they need to continue with the show they have financial needs to be met, according to the life style that the children are used to, Kate's nursing carrier would not be able to support them. IF SOME OF YOU VIEWERS ARE TIRED OF THE SHOW THEN JUST USE YOUR REMOTE YOU ARE NOT FORCED TO DO WHAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO, THERE ARE CHOICES. Why take away the bread and butter from these people in regardless to what you may think that they are rich, money is like a vapor it disappear very easily. As a Mother and Grandmother I can understand their family dynamics. It is not nice to speak or write derogatory things about people what if the shoe is on the other foot, if you do not have good to say please!!! keep you mouth shut, it's not nice.
Jon, Kate and your Children I wish you all the best.
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Deborah Miele 7-01-2009 @ 1:03AM
Someone did a terrific job of editing last night's show. Kate was only mean once. Compared to past shows, this showed a new side of Kate. Too bad this was not the way she spoke to Jon in the past. If she did, they might not be in this situation.
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Sandy 7-01-2009 @ 9:06AM
I agree with what has been said. It does take 2 to ruin a marriage. Kate is someone that either gets what she wants or she will make your life hell if she doesn't it seems. I'm sure Jon didn't want kids so quickly, wanted to wait, but Kate wanted them NOW. She even said on the show "what was our rush". In the last few shows you can tell that Jon's attitude has changed from taking Kate's crap into standing up for himself and Kate doesn't know what to do. They should STOP doing the show and try to talk and work things out. I'm sure Kate doesn't want to stop and that's part of the problem she and Jon have. They make too much money doing the show and Kate doesn't want to change her new lifestyle of spending money like it grows on trees.
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rachel 7-01-2009 @ 2:49PM
OK first of all they weren't high school sweethearts, they met right after Kate graduated nursing school, 2nd Jon loved being a family of 4, he loved just having the twins. In reference to them never doing any family things with their kids, why dont you watch the damn show, almost every episode is them spending quality time as a family, either at home making crafts or something or out at theme parks, parades, or other outings. No matter what is happening between Jon and Kate they are good parents, and all the bullshit that the media spins on them if you just watch the show, especially the early episodes when they werent that famous you will see that.
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Rick Garner 7-06-2009 @ 1:17AM
What a difference a year makes. Just a year ago, Jon & Kate were enjoying family time at the beach with fireworks. After a year of media fireworks, what can you do for them today? http://tinyurl.com/q7vur5
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stacey 7-11-2009 @ 10:43PM
i believe all in all they are both at fault and to blame. #1 jon might have wanted to grow a back bone prior to twins and maybe if that wasnt grow the enough grow a back bone before sixtuplets. #2 kate was a bitch man as the seasons went on u could tell she became nothing but into the tv money.....and ultimately those eight children are going to be able to google themselves and their parents for the rest of their lives and it is totally unfair to those kids they deserved such a better life than what theyve gotten and are going to further get
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Frances 7-16-2009 @ 7:23PM
I will never watch this show again. In the beginning, I could relate as a parent of a demanding toddler... they have six for goodness sake! It gave me hope that I could make it through the day with my one demanding toddler. Watching them struggle to make it through the day with their busy, normal lives was inspiring. I even used to defend Kate when I heard people say critical things... after all, every army needs a general, right? I know that I am the general around my house, for sure! However, I used to hear the way Kate spoke to Jon and pray that I never spoke to my kind, sweet husband like that! They used to be like every family on the block... worrying about how to stretch a dollar at the grocery store and how to sneak out of the house to squeeze errands into the 2 hour nap window of freedom.
Slowly, but surely, the dynamics of the show/their lives changed, and I decided not to watch any more shortly before they moved to the latest house. Watching the show evolve into TLC-sponsored field trips got to be a little difficult to tolerate. Listening to the arguing and sniping got to be too much to take. They became totally unrelatable to me. Perhaps there is some demographic out there in tv land that will appreciate watching this new phase of their lives, but it is not me.
Now, it is no longer a show about a family struggling to make it in the face of overwhelming circumstances... it has become a show about a family who sold their collective souls to the network. It is no longer inspirational, it is heartbreaking! I have no desire to see their struggles with the photographers camped outside their sprawling estate. I do not wish to see how they deal with this divorce, new relationships, sharing a house during this estrangement... this is nothing but a trainwreck.
How can they possibly think that filming this is going to do any good for their children? They need to get the cameras out of their house and move on to other projects that will afford them a lifestyle that will insulate their children from the cameras that they imposed on them throughout their childhoods.
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