Jon vs. Kate - Whose Side Are You On?

by Susan Wagner (Subscribe to Susan Wagner's posts)
Aug 27th 2009 4:25PM

Filed under: Celeb Parents, In The News

ParentDish and Life and Style magazine want to know: In the Gosselin divorce, whose side are you on these days?

Jon and Kate Gosselin's 9-year-old twins, Mady and Cara, started school today, and just like moms and dads across the country, the couple were at the bus stop to send the girls off for their first day of third grade. Except, of course, the Gosselins are not just like other moms and dads -- they're reality television stars in the midst of a much-discussed divorce.

Jon Gosselin, specifically, has been a topic of conversation this week, at least on one morning show: Ex-girlfriend -- and former Star magazine reporter -- Kate Major dished about her relationship with the 32-year-old dad of eight on CBS' The Early Show last week, describing Gosselin's behavior as "some bachelor romp or whatever you want to call it." Major -- a former reporter for the tabloid Star magazine -- says she quit her job to be with Gosselin, who promised to make her his personal assistant. But that didn't pan out, and neither did the relationship. "He did not act like an adult, or a grown man, or a father. It's sad, I think the fame has just gone to his head," Major told The Early Show.

So what's Jon Gosselin up to these days? He's got a new girlfriend and a new career. Gosselin has been dating 22-year-old Hailey Glassman, whose dad happens to be estranged wife Kate's plastic surgeon. The pair were in France in July for talks with Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier about a line of kids' clothing that Gosselin is going to design. Rumor has it he will have his own kids -- all eight of them -- modeling the togs.

Meanwhile, Kate Gosselin was home in Pennsylvania with the kids, and has been spotted wearing her wedding ring.

Jon also has eight stitches in his head right now, after an incident where he reportedly banged into a cabinet door in the dark at the Gosselin home in Pennsylvania. Kate, on the other hand, is prepping for an upcoming spot as a guest host on The View. So Kate is working and Jon is crashing into things. Interesting.

The most interesting thing, though, is this: Jon Gosselin's post-separation behavior -- his hook ups with Kate Major and Hailey Glassman (who was photographed apparently passed out in a potted plant) and his late-night parties at swanky clubs -- seems to be swaying public opinion about his soon-to-be ex-wife. After all these years of thinking that Kate was the problem with that marriage, the weirdly-tressed mama is beginning to look like the mature, responsible one, while Jon is looking like one of those pathetic mid-life crisis guys, albeit a few years too early.

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Jon & Kate Gosselin

Today we all have a window into the Gosselin's 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. Especially now.

Bauer-Griffin

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.

Getty Images

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

ReaderComments (Page 2 of 3)

Add Your Comments

8-30-2009 @ 12:56PM

bonnie cramer said...

I agree with you 100%, except I would go one step further. I would cut the purse strings on the american gigalo, he would not be using my childrens future to support his playboy habits

8-30-2009 @ 9:06AM

JODE said...

I think he's letting all this money and fame i guess you could call it go to his head. When did Jon Gosselin become a man that ANYBODY would quit their jobs for or want to start a clothing line with. What is he famous for having 8 kids with a women then deciding shes not the 1 I'm going to start dating a 22 yr old. he's a loser.

8-30-2009 @ 9:13AM

Kaitlyn said...

He Deserves Nobody not even his kids from how hes acting right now

8-30-2009 @ 9:18AM

Dee said...

I think what is happening here is Jon is letting out all of
frustrations that he had when living with Kate. He sure
was a whipping boy,but of course he allowed it, Why, i guess
to keep peace

She is far from an angel. She has a lot up her sleeve,only
she is playing it cool at the moment. Wait until the
divorce is final, then all hell is going to break loose

8-30-2009 @ 9:32AM

Debbe said...

I am always shocked at parents with young children going out and dating. I mean, the children grow up so fast and there is always time for dating later. It isn't a sin or anything to do this, but I just didn't choose that for me. I look back now and I am proud I put my son over my dating life, and he even thanked me for that now that he is a teenager and see's how everyone else does. He knows his mama was right there every night for him. After divorce the answer to your problems should not be finding someone new, it should be being there for the people who were already there - your kids.
Jon and Brittany would probably be better people if they learned how to do that, there is a lot of soul searching that you gain from being alone and just doing right for your children. I am a better person today.

8-30-2009 @ 9:37AM

SimplyWmn said...

Jon is a loser. Plain and simple. He needs to grow up... behave like a father, quit the whining, quit the whoring around before he has another eight children and do what is right.

I used to side with Jon because I thought Kate was verbally mean to him...but now I see that maybe she was just tired of him not trying hard enough. I don't think she should have humilated him in public like that BUT I think she has redeemed herself and he has made his image worse by putting dating, golf and things like that first. Random visits with your child is not being a good parent.
There is no way I would let someone have FULL control over my child and just pop in every now and then, and there is no excuse for a father to do that either. That is pathetic.

8-30-2009 @ 4:38PM

MEM said...

I wish they would both just crawl back under the rock they came from and stop giving interviews.Geez....enough is enough. Time to move on...all of us!!

8-30-2009 @ 10:33AM

Ashley said...

I think what a lot of people fail to realize about Kate and her so-called "intensity" is that Kate has OCD and is two years older than Jon. Those who suffer from OCD not only need to obsessively control all elements in her life, but many feel the need to hoard. I have also been supportive of Kate in response to her controlling ways. Jon knew what traits Kate had before he married her, OCD is near impossible to hide and even when the show first aired there were reports of Jon exhibiting not so becoming and fatherly behaviors. As far as their divorce goes, people have to consider all the facts. It takes two to make a marriage work. If both people aren't making the effort, chances are the relationship will fail.

8-30-2009 @ 5:02PM

Kevin said...

Ok was never a big fan of this show. I think that anyone who invites the public into there private lives is asking for disaster. That being said what I did see was a woman who was more then a control freak, who on more then one occasion publicly embarassed her husband. If the way she treated him on camera is any indication of how she treated him privately he should have went running long before he did.

Now I am not saying that his actions, sneaking around with other woman and such are actions of a resposible parent; for that I am ashamed of him. It also seems that that coin does have two sides and Kate was also acting in much the same manner.

But now that the two of them have amde the decission to live seperate lives, why should he not being seen out with other woman? What is it about divorce that makes outsiders think that there should be some sort of waiting period. Before people marry if they break-up they are expected to move on. If they don't friends and family are always telling them to get over it. Well why then when a marriage ends is there supposed to be a mourning period?

I do however think that Jon need to focus a bit more on the children. He is a large part of their lives and there need to be consistancy for them. His personal live needs to take a back seat to his parenting life.

8-31-2009 @ 12:46AM

Bev said...

WHAT KIND OF WOMAN WOULD DATE A MAN WITH 8 CHILDREN AND A WIFE??? John need's to GROW UP!! Dude your a FATHER!! The ONLY WOMEN YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE ARE YOUR DAUGHTER'S!!! Plus you need to be teaching those little boy's how to be responsible FATHERS! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?? I didn't approve of some of the stuff that Kate said to you... But DUDE you get marriage counseling....NOT GIRLFRIENDS!!!! GROW UP!!
PS... If your a women looking for someone to date... Make sure they aren't married and DON'T HAVE 8 CHILDREN!!!! IF For NO other reason CONSIDER THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!!

8-30-2009 @ 12:08PM

Irene said...

I think we need to see them on the Dr. Phil show. Now wouldn't that be interesting. Phil calls it out.

8-30-2009 @ 11:54AM

mike mcclaren said...

It is very difficult to make either one look good. People who try and make money off their kids simply do not look good in any light. When you are completely self absorbed in yourself and want to have the public support you, you don't look good.

8-30-2009 @ 11:38AM

kimberly said...

You have no idea what someone is really like until you live in their shoes. From the time I began watching Jon & Kate plus 8 I saw many similarities from my marriage. I did not agree with how Kate spoke to her husband at times but we did not see what happened that day to cause the built up emotions to erupt on him. I so connected with Kate I don't have 8 kids because I barely made it having 2 with the man I am married to. I love him he is awesome but he is so much like Jon. I felt like a single mother. Thank God my kids are now 14 and 16 but do you know what it is like to be married to a man who is self centered all about him and what he is missing in life? To see the look on his face of oh my God another day of this crap. I do... I can remember having two babies 1 and 3 years of age and getting a terrible stomach flu. I could not get off the couch. My husband comes home from work to a messy house and laundry needing done and being mean and yelling at me because the house is a mess. He called his mom to come and help him. I can remember the babies wanting to be carried and he would get mad if one had to be carried up a hill so I would at times carry one on my back and the other in my arms. We lived in a trailer so I could stay home and take care of things and afford to live and the hot water tank was leaking water. Mind you my husband was sick at the time with a horrible cold but this was an emergency we had no water I had to walk to turn off the water to the house to keep the leak contained. I needed water and he said he was too sick to fix it. So I researched and researched online to find out how to replace a hot water tank myself. I knew I could not do it but it had to be done and I was the only one. I began praying cause I knew this was too big for me and got up the courage to call my dad for help. He was so angry that my husband would not get up off the couch and help. I defended him that he had a cold and was sick but my dad is the type of man you do it sick when your family needs something done. Anyway enough about me.... Jon is so much like my husband and I am not proud of it but I at times talked to my husband like Kate did Jon. She felt alone and like she was the only one. Those feelings build up and lash out when Jon looked all innocent. He is not innocent he is a lazy man who mommy and daddy funded his trip around europe. He was never prepared to be a father or husband he was coddled. My husband was too.... LEAVE KATE ALONE SHE IS A SELF DRIVEN WOMAN AND SHE WILL SUCCEED.

8-30-2009 @ 4:30PM

LOL At These Posts! said...

Isn' it always the woman's fault when a marriage breaks up? It really doesn't matter how hard she's worked, how much she's done to keep the marriage together, how much she's tolerated, how little the man has contributed (it's enough that he was around!), or if he's cheated, lied, stolen, or beaten her. Any failure or fault must fall on the woman. And if she dares to criticize the man - heaven help her! How dare she! It doesn't matter if he's a complete failure and a total loser - the woman must never ever ever think she has the right to criticize or correct the man! A capable, successful woman must hide her abilities and build up her loser slacker husband so that he looks better than he is and so that the woman looks less capable and less successful. That is her job! Kate - didn't you get this memo????

8-30-2009 @ 11:32AM

UncleD said...

What thier reality show needs most is..CANCELLATION!!!

Sususuuu said...

Is this crap ever going to stop? No one, especially Jon and Kate, seems to give a damn that there are 8 young children whose lives have been disrupted, basically since birth, by the idiocy of this "reality" band wagon that everyone has jumped on in the last few years. I am SO sick and tired of the Gosselins, and I wish they would just cancel that sickening show and concentrait on those kids before their lives are so screwed up that they can never be fixed. And no, I have never watched the show. Not once! The only reason I know anything about it is because it's the focus of news reports, magazine and online articles every blessed day of the week. ENOUGH ALREADY.

8-30-2009 @ 11:58AM

Michelle said...

Jon is a douche bag. Kate treated Jon like he was a douche bag. Anybody who thinks Jon is not a douche bag and didn't deserve to be treated like one is also a douche bag. Period, end of story, that's all she wrote.

8-30-2009 @ 11:59AM

Sususuu said...

I'm with you, UncleD!! *thumbs up*

8-30-2009 @ 2:40PM

s mayer said...

Are you all blind? Kate was always the organized one, the hard worker, the planner and the organizer. Her kids always came first and she is a wonder at seeing to their needs. Jon, for the most part, did what she told him to do. Was she a tad too sharp with him? Yes. Did she put him down a bit too often? Yes. Perhaps that was in response to his childish behavior that we didn't see on TV...

I think Kate has gotten more loving, supportive and openly affectionate towards her kids since the dissolution of her marriage. She can probably do better than Jon. It is sad, however, that these kids do not have a pair of parents at home with them. I often thought how ironic it would be if their marriage broke up when Kate kept assuring the kids that their daddy and mommy would always be together...

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