What’s next for Jon and Kate?

By on October 2, 2009 in Television

Wow.  Each turn with this saga gets more and more odd.  If you’ve followed this story for a while, you’ll know that Jon’s comments to the media are mostly informal, off the cuff, on usually on his own terms when he is feeling generous with his time.  Other than the chair interviews on Jon and Kate plus 8, there have been very few formal video interviews with him, sharing his own thoughts on the matter.  Last night, Jon showed up on Larry King to reveal his news on pulling his children off of the new “Kate Plus 8″ show, among other things.  Here is a clip:

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It’s hard to know what Jon really wants out of all of this.  Even though this is a video interview, and we are actually getting our information “from the horse’s mouth”, it still feels less than genuine.  You can almost see his lawyer’s hand reach into Jon’s back and making his lips move.  I smirked when his lawyer could not even remember the name of the show.  You’ve got to wonder how many times Larry King has watched the show himself.

It was surprising that his lawyer didn’t slap Mr. Jon Gosselin when he paused after being asked about how much money he made last year.  It’s responses like that (implying that he does not make enough money) that make you want to throw up.  But he does sprinkle in some other commentary that makes you want to pat him on the back.  Taking responsibility for his actions is a positive step.  There are many people who will never admit to a mistake.  I appreciate his honesty in sharing that.

I believe him when he says that he’s had an epiphany and that he cares for the welfare of his children.  It’s harder to believe that he told the TLC that he wanted to quit a long time ago for the sake of his children.  Especially with quotes like this from Kate from a corresponding CNN.com article saying she was:

“saddened and confused by Jon’s public media statements.”

and

“Jon has never expressed any concerns to me about our children being involved in the show and, in fact, is on the record as saying he believes the show benefits our children and was taping on Friday with the kids.”

It’s tough to see these two parents, who used to share a bed together, having to communicate to each other through media outlets and press releases.

A lot of anti-Jon sentiments have been put forth about about his recent playboy lifestyle and his womanizing ways, calling him a loser, a cheater, and a poser.  If his latest feelings are to be believed, (that he regrets his behavior, made mistakes, and wants to befriend Kate and work out his marriage), will people forgive him?

Many of the negative comments about Jon that I have heard have added a prescription for what he “should” be doing.  Namely, stop production of the show, stop all of the high profile womanizing, and work out a situation for his family that is in the best interest of his children.  If he indeed does this, will those same people support him?

Are comments of criticism meant to redeem Jon into some sort of redemptive behavior?  Or are they just mean-spirited and judgement, and a way to feel better about oneself for not experiencing the same moral failures?  Basically, will the public shackle Jon to his past?  Or will they support him into the future as he exemplifies approved behavior?  What do you think?

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  • Mary

    I’ve not watched the show much, but it’s hard to avoid it b/c this family is in the press all the time. I have a hard time believing that John’s only concern is his kids. His behavior shows otherwise. But…I think reality shows are ridiculously out of control and I don’t understand why anyone has 8 kids to begin with when they can’t support them without havng their own TV show. From the state of the marriage, I REALLY don’t understand why they had 8 kids. The marriage didn’t get this way overnight or in the five years since the sextuplets were born. Having kids doesn’t require any particular “talent” and this just illustrates that. Yeah, I think it’s best if the kids are off the show, but I think they shouldn’t have been there to start. They are going to have two immature adults trying to raise them whether it’s on or off screen. Jon is in the spotlight b/c he put himself there.

  • http://www.zacparsons.com Zac

    @Mary – I value your comments as someone who admittedly has not seen much of the show. On as to why they have 8 kids, it was an overly successful attempt at a 3rd (and final) child through in vitro fertilization that resulted in seven fetuses, ultimately having Kate give birth to sextuplets. TLC thought that it was a neat story and created a special. The popularity of that special gave way to another special one year later, and eventually their own series.

    Jon is responsible for what he does, in or out of the spotlight. We’ll see how he comes out in all of this. Thanks for visiting!

  • tim

    johnBoy is an idiot. i have not watched the show ever, but to have a show, then to run around, then get fired, which he deserves. he now wants to right the ship..? ya, because he is being ousted from the show, and has no other income or job..
    good riddenz’ i feel real bad for all their children, what a mess.

  • Seth Cold

    This little Jon boy better go play in another sand box, the fact that Kate is doing what is best for the kids is great. Now that he is out of the picture and not getting all the money he needs for his women, well then he cries WOLF” wow how hypocritical is this.

  • Shelly B

    John is a JOKE! Now he is concerned about the kid’s best interest? What a cry baby!! It looks like he may have to get a real job to start paying Kate child support for all of those kids pending everything with the divorce. Kate is definately the more mature of the two or so it seems.

  • http://www.zacparsons.com Zac

    With the last several comments, it seems like Jon’s society is less interested in his redemption, and more interested in his wearing the scarlet letter or his being branded as the village idiot, at least. Interesting.

  • Debbie

    I am so tired of Jon Gosselin and his early mid-life crisis! After Kate was crucified in the press as bitter and controlling it’s great to see her getting recognition for being responsible and loving with her kids. She HAD to be in charge because he was so incapable of it. Sure it’s not a “regular” life but that doesn’t mean it’s harmful – the kids seem to enjoy themselves and seem like terrific little people/ And BTW – how will he pay child support and upkeep on that great house all HER efforts have made possible? Is he going to GET A JOB??? He needs to move along so we can terminate his 15 minutes of fame and enjoy watching her continue to do such a great job of raising those cuties!

  • mcai

    I have watched this show for years and always admired their teamwork. I gave Jon a lot of credit for being a stay at home dad and caring for his kids with their mom. I did not watch as much when Kate started to get bossy and watched even less as Kate became a total self righteous bitch. I think when they went to his home to his family in Hawaii to renew their vows that he realized how bad it had become. In Hawaii, actions speak louder than words and infidelity is not the big deal it is elsewhere.

    So the rest of this opinion is written from a more “local” opinion. The fact that Jon put up with Kate’s bossiness and let her have her own way constantly spoke from a local Hawaii point of view, spoke volumes of his love for her. Those actions spoke louder than any words. He allowed her to run the show the way she wanted to because he loved her and the kids. Talking about stuff is not necessarily something that local men do. Women are expected to see the actions. He was there for her, he did it her way whenever it came to the kids. As she became bitchier, he did start to roll his eyes more as a body language way of giving an opinion.

    It seems that something must have happened when they went home to Hawaii. His family may have seen her as more of an “American Woman” and might not appreciated how she treated him in front of them. Because soon after that, he started acting out. Again from a local point of view, if your man is cheating on you or your woman, that is your fault. But again, it is not the end this relationship and it is over kind of thing. You are expect to fight for your partner. But Kate kept fighting with Jon. So then he just became a tool.

    Jon has been consistent recently in saying he did not want to do the show anymore because it was bad for the kids. You see Kate calling the camera crew saying “people over here”. He also expects her to say in front of the camera’s what she says in private. So that is a clear indication that she behaves differently depending on the audience. So it might not be good for the kids if she says and does different things so as to appear hypocritical.

    Now TLC has gotten into their marriage and is trying to manipulate things there. They want to show Kate as the typical woman who are more and more single parents now days. Back in the day, women struggled to preserve their marriages because marriages had value. Now days, American Women trash their marriages more often than not. And why? Because now days they can. So TLC sees an opportunity to take this lemon and make lemon aide. So it becomes about Kate at the expense of their kids. And as long TLC makes money, then why not.

    So far the reality shows have ruined a lot of marriages. If what Jon has said is true, that a year ago she wanted out of the marriage to do her own thing, to be a “star” the TLC becomes an accomplice to that. Some people like the star attention and some don’t Jon said a while ago, he was tired of it and Kate did not listen. So she wants to go on without him regardless of what is good for the kids. And where is their share of the money, by the way? So yeah, you get the point.

  • James

    It seems that jon is mad about getting fired, but also, he may have felt that the show was bad for his kids before hand. Kate is very controlling and may not of let him talk or allowed him to express his feelings about it. I went to one of her book signings and she is very rude. I think most of the problems stem back to her. I am not blaming kate for everything, jon, of course had something to do with the problems. I think the show needed to stop when all the tabloids started covering them with the whole scandal type coverage. It is stupid to subject children to lives that will affect them mentally in the future. I think Kate cares about the money and only the money not the children like she says. I think Jon is afraid that the show will make him look worst than he already does. he already looks like a bad husband (which he is) but he seems to be a good father and cares about his children, you can tell that by watching the show, but if he is not on the show, it makes him look like a bad father, and that is not fair to him or the kids.

  • http://www.zacparsons.com Zac

    @mcai – Your timeline for the rapid breakdown of their marriage seems to be accurate. But, as most divorced people would say, both partners are at fault for the demise of their relationship. Both of them are hypocrites in some way, but I believe that everyone is to some extent. I believe that Jon is more at fault for his affair than anything he was reacting to from Kate’s behavior. Kate is responsible for treating her husband in a disrespectful way even if he is a passive person. As for the kids, I don’t believe that they are being exploited in this situation at all. Most of the ugliness of the saga has played out in the tabloids, not the TLC show.

  • http://www.zacparsons.com Zac

    @James – Having the show move on without him does seem pretty negative for his portrayal as a father. I would argue that everything affects children’s live mentally in the future. The show has exposed them to countless educational and entertainment opportunities. If my kids had 1/10th of the experiences that these kids have had, I would chalk that up as a pretty exciting childhood. My wife and I ended up divorcing without a TV show or a tabloid scandal, as countless other couples have as well. The saddest part for me is that Jon and Kate haven’t spoken for nearly 3 weeks. As parents (of 8 children), that is far too long to go without communicating, even if it is just about the kids.