After weeks of tabloid scrutiny, Jon and Kate Gosselin finally got to tell their side of the story last night on the season premiere of “Jon and Kate Plus 8” and it was a somber hour that is clearly the beginning of the end for America’s favorite family.
The first seven minutes of the episode were solely devoted to the elephant in the room — Jon’s rumored cheating — but the parents didn’t share the love seat we’re accustomed to seeing them squeezed into. The exhaustion, frustration, anger and confusion was evident on both Jon and Kate’s faces as they talked candidly about what had been happening to their family.
Jon, coming much more from a place of anger, stated in no uncertain terms that he didn’t cheat on Kate and doesn’t care who believes him. But emotion began to creep across Jon’s suddenly fuller face (stress eating?) when he began talking about how this might affect his 8. “One day my kids are gonna Google me and I hope they understand that it’s all crap,” he said of the tabloid rumors.
As for Kate, I think she made it quite clear their marriage hadn’t been all that great for some time, saying, “[I’ve been] dealing with this for six months — maybe even longer if I was being really honest — slowly I’ve seen him almost resent the duties” that being a parent of multiples requires.
“He’s angry with me … and I have a lot of anger because this is not what I envisioned for us, he’s made some very poor decisions and we all have to live with them,” Kate said placing much of the blame for their struggles squarely on his shoulders. But she also took responsibility for her contribution to the decline of their marriage.
“Have I been hard on him over the last 10 years? Absolutely. I would never deny that, you have it on tape. I’ve been really hard on him and I’ve always regretted it. Have I pushed him to this? I don’t feel like I have.”
By book-ending the episode — which focused on the sextuplet’s 5th birthday — with interviews focusing on the future of their family, a sense of sadness loomed over the entire hour, making me feel genuinely bad for everyone involved … except for Jon, because he totally bailed!
With the kids biggest birthday party yet needing to be planned, dad totally checked out. “Jon decided he needed a weekend off,” Kate explained, as she did all the planning and preparing on her own. But as the hour wore on it became quite clear that a trial separation was in effect, especially when Alexis told Jon, “I don’t want you to go away no more.” It was quite heartbreaking to watch the children begin to process what will most likely be their parents’ divorce.
I say that because Jon showed up to the party in his own car and barely spoke to Kate the whole time. In an odd turn of phrase, Kate’s comment about how low the temperature was that day — “I just can’t take the coldness” — could have easily been applied to the chilly interactions the two parents shared all day long.
In fact, I barely saw the two talk — save for a group photo, which was later contextualized in a truly upsetting way. “I remember thinking this could possibly be out last family picture,” Kate said, as she fought back tears.
As the episode drew to a close, Jon and Kate may have finally been sitting next to one another, but the emotional wall between them was plain as day. “Parents of multiples have triple the divorce rate,” Kate said. “And I remember thinking we were gonna beat that — but I don’t know if I can say that anymore. Very swiftly we’ve turned into two different people.”
The only thing Jon and Kate could agree on is that they — like many couples — are basically staying together for the children at this point. “I am wholeheartedly in everything that I’m doing for the kids,” Kate said, with Jon replying, “I’m here for my kids, too.”
Having been a fan of “Jon and Kate Plus 8” for quite some time, I have to say that seeing The Gosselins — a family I’ve become truly invested in — begin to crumble is unexpectedly depressing. The weeks leading up to the premiere were filled with fan-ticipation — what would they say? How would they act? Are the stories or the marriage fake?
But now, in the aftermath of the episode, I just want to rewind to the good old days. And while DVD’s make that possible for fans, it doesn’t look like Jon and Kate can ever get back to where they once were.