Jon and Kate Plus 8 – Time to Call It Quits?

On May 14, 2006, we were introduced to the Gosselin Family. We watched the hour long special which revolved around the daily routine of raising twins and sextuplets. The show was all about the children. Nearly one year later, the first episode of the reality show series aired. It was still all about the children, but through short clips of interviews with Jon and Kate, we slowly became aware of the parents’ personalities. Kate clearly wore the pants in the family while Jon appeared to be more passive in an attempt to keep things running smoothly in their home.
Three years later, the show has done a complete 180. Instead of it being all about the kids, it’s all about Jon and Kate. The kids are merely there for “filler” between solo interviews with either Jon or Kate, who discuss their failing marriage. Between the end of season 4, which aired at the end of March, and the beginning of season 5, which aired at the end of May, the media had a field day with the rumor that Jon was cheating on Kate with a 23 year old teacher. Shortly after this rumor started, there was a counter-rumor that Kate was having an affair with her bodyguard. Who really knows if either rumor is true, but clearly their marriage is in trouble. As a matter of fact, on May 27, 2009, Showbiz Tonight broke the news that allegedly TLC is helping Jon find an apartment that is “camera-ready” so they are able to film him in his new home.
The question seems to be this: Is it time for the show to call it quits? Have these children been scarred enough from having cameras in their little faces 2-3 times a week?

Sure, it was a nice idea at the beginning. Jon and Kate agreed to the series so they could document their children’s lives. But, they lost sight of their goal. Instead of documenting the children, they are now documenting the failure of their marriage. It’s been suggested that they should include marriage counseling in future episodes, but really, is that going to fix the problem? According to Kate’s brother, Kevin, the woman we see on our screens is not the real Kate. She pretends to be the hard working stay-at-home mom that takes care of the house and family 24/7 with no help, but in reality, she has a crew of people that do laundry, cook, clean, etc. So, my other question is this: If Kate can’t be herself in front of the camera, how will marriage counseling in front of a camera help this family? She will be attempting to fix the fake Kate, while the real Kate’s problems are never addressed. Will counseling make for good TV or will it actually help this family?

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