I first heard about "Jon & Kate Plus 8" while I was on maternity leave last year, and I caught a few episodes of it on TLC every now and then. The kids were cute enough to retain my attention, but I was never an avid follower of the show. The big house, expensive toys, and frequent vacations just seemed like they were using their children to furnish their lavish lifestyle, especially when I see an episode of Jon having cosmetic surgery for hair implants.
Now Jon and Kate are all over the media. A ten year marriage dissolved... just like that! It's easy for outsiders to judge and give an opinion, but who really knows what went on behind closed doors? Was there infidelity on the part of either spouse? How long has this anger been building up, and would it have made a difference if they got to the root of the problem earlier? What is the root of the problem?
My heart goes out to their eight children. I can't believe they are still continuing on with the show, but I suppose the bills have to be paid somehow. I wouldn't be surprised if viewership dropped significantly, and it eventually gets canceled. I could just feel the tension in the air from yesterday's episode. All that negativity can't be healthy for the kids!
4 comments:
I agree with you; my heart goes out to the kids! I mean, their lives are on TV and now they have to deal with their parents divorce in the public eye.
I know as I watched the show, my mom and I both really did not like how Kate treated Jon. She treated him like he was one of the kids and not her spouse and equal. She would cut him off, correct his speaking, and be outrightly rude and degrading to him. She would even hit him (she called them love pats or something like that).
Of course, I don't think that that should give either of them the right to be unfaithful. You say you're in this marriage for good? That's it, even if there are problems. But I also can't help but think about how bad Jon must have felt throughout those years of marriage when Kate just stopped treating him like an equal. Of course, this is based on what we see on the show.
Anyway ... those kids. If a family needs prayer, it's that one.
oddly enough, your mom was the one who first told me about jon & kate! i started watching the show during my 2 weeks off before baby k was born.
marriage takes work. it requires compromising. unfortunately, ppl give up too easily these days, undermining the sanctity of marriage. hopefully the time off (i heard the show is on hiatus until aug) will give them a chance to reconsider their relationship, their family, and put their priorities in order. if they are really putting their kids first, as they both claim to be, they ought to think about the effect all this negative publicity has on their lives.
i loved watching the show b/c the kids are so cute. but, like the both of you, it irked me to see the way that kate treated jon and made me wonder why he kept his mouth shut all this time. in the last episode, he proclaimed that he was proud of himself for standing on his own two feet and not taking her crap anymore. if only he had done that sooner, they could have worked on it.
also, as i watched the shows progress, it looks like jon and kate have made complete physical transformations to make themselves more camera friendly and almost a bit superficial/materialistic. perhaps it shows us once again that you can't serve two masters: God and money? Just a thought...
i hope that they somehow work this out. perhaps get some counseling from their church community and pastors.
Karen's point about the money stuff is true. In the earlier episodes, they were very grateful for the help they would get because I can't imagine the cost involved with having so many kids (ugh, all those diapers would add up!). But then the more recent shows were about them GETTING things - even if it was for free. They got those trips probably because the hotels and places want the publicity. However, that also meant that the kids had to pay the price of doing these things in the public eye.
I read somewhere that Mady is actually a total sweetheart. She usually gets really grouchy and has those tantrums because of the cameras. They actually have a bunch of takes when Mady gets angry with the camera being there. I mean, she already has to deal with the regular sibling jealousy ... then she has to compete for her parents' attention because of the camera?
If you watch the first 2 "episodes" (those specials before they signed the contract for the show), you'll see just how different Jon and Kate are in the interviews. They're so sweet with each other!
It's just also terrible how they've also said, "God comes first" and all of those Christian-y things. Not to say that Christians can't mess up, but I think that Christians in the public eye really need to be careful of what they do. Even if neither of them were unfaithful, how smart was it for Jon to be out with that girl (I don't know all the details) even if they weren't doing anything wrong? It just sets the wrong image.
I was just really surprised that they were going on with season 5 despite all that was going on. Is the show really that important to continue? People would just be watching the awkwardness anyway. I hope that hiatus thing is true. Let the kids be kids. Let the parents figure something out without being watched.
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