Jon minus Kate

When I started this blog, I wrote that Jon and Kate Plus 8 is one of my favorite things. I loved seeing the day to day lives of the Gosselins, whether it be potty training, dentist visits, or cooking at home with Mom. Over the past few months, it seems that the show has gotten away from what made it endearing; now the large brood is taking trips to Colorado, Hawaii, and so on. They are buying expensive things, whether it be a new house, golf clubs, camping equipment, or whatever. For a while it seemed that almost every show involved them having to buy something in order to do something! To top it all off, they have now become huge celebrities, which involves one or both parents traveling and being away from the kids, and apparently no one is handling this new-found fame very well.

So now the marriage is over. Is anyone really surprised? A part of me really wishes that they could get some counseling and work it out, but it seems unrealistic that they can do that in the public eye, and neither seems ready to give up the show.

My personal feeling is that, divorce or not, this show has run its course. The sextuplets will be in school full time in the fall, and the daily life will just not be as interesting to film. The shows will probably have to revolve around these trips and spending money; sorry, that it just not REALITY for most people. Monday's episode involved getting 4 playhouses from Maine to the tune of almost $2500 each (I looked it up on the Internet)--this is not reality, people! I miss the days when we saw Kate grocery shopping and trying to budget her money. Pretty safe to say, we'll never see that again!

I do admire that they say that the multi-million dollar home is for the kids, and that they will trade out living there. When it's Jon's weekend, he will stay in the house and Kate will disappear. Great idea! But will it work? What about when one or both parents remarry?

I read this morning that the show is shutting down until August while the family regroups and TLC decides how to handle this new wrinkle. TLC, wake up! Cancel it already! Let this family grieve the loss of the parents' marriage in private and become a "normal" family again--or at least as normal as possible, given the circumstances.