Jon and Kate (of Jon and Kate plus 8)

I didn't feel any more sorry for him then. He married her. He knew what he was getting into.

Besides, I don't think for the longest time he minded it. Kate's personality, while certainly abrasive toward Jon at times, is also what kept that family moving on a daily basis. For having 8 kids under the ages of 5, the guy didn't have it all that bad at home, because Kate was doing the heavy lifting. I'm sure he didn't like it when he bore the brunt of Kate's intensity, but it also worked well for him ... a lot.

Then Kate gets a book deal and is on the road, now all of a sudden - Gasp! - Jon has to be home to take care of 8 kids full-time ... aka the same thing Kate's been doing for years.

 

i was with you to this point, but no. Kate has NEVER been "taking care of the kids full-time." She's had help, and her concern has ALWAYS been marketing the kids. Taking care of them is a byproduct of that.

 

I can't help but wonder if Jon's attitude to Kate changed when he learned viewers thought she was a bitch and that he was a hen-pecked wuss.

 

That's an interesting point. Hadn't considered that.

 

Really? He knew what he was getting into? He knew his entire family would be on TV in the seventh year of his marriage on his wedding day? He knew that his wife would turn into Annette Benning's character in American Beauty for the entire world to see? He knew he would wind up with sextuplets through fertility drugs?

None of us know what we're getting into. That's why the divorce rate is so high in this country.

 

He's not bailing because of the kids - what he says - and I already said Kate's portion of the blame includes pushing the TV show to continue when Jon clearly didn't want it to. It's a whole one post back.

As for Kate, she's not that different a person than she was 10 years ago. She didn't 'turn into' anything. As far as I've seen on the show - and again, I've been watching a long time - she's the same today as she was when the show began.

So yes, when it comes to Kate and her personality and all its faults, yes, Jon knew exactly what he was getting into.

 

Said something similar to the wife tonight as we watched.
I wonder if people have gotten in Jon's ear.

 

You famously have have EIGHT KIDS, you STFU and put them first.

Anything else, you are a selfish jerk.

I know nothing about these people, but I am sad for the kids.

 

There is no doubt in my mind that Jon came off a lot worse tonight. And I'm no fan of that evil woman.

 

For different reasons and in varying degrees, both sides are to blame for the dissolution of this marriage. It takes two to tango, and their basic issues are the types of things that bring about any broken marriage.

I don't know how anyone could be anything but sad, for everyone in this family, after watching tonight's show.

Save for the sheer size, and any stresses related to that, this family always struck me as a nice, accurate portrayal of pretty normal parents, kids and unique interpersonal dynamics like the ones that exist in many other families. And, I believe there was love there.

Kate's biggest mistakes, AND TLC's (yes, I believe the network is partly culpable here): 1). not agreeing to cancel the show once Jon clearly wanted to be done with it. 2). And, not being more mindful of her tendency to berate Jon, sometimes over little, unimportant things, regardless of whether the cameras were rolling, or not.

Jon's biggest mistakes: 1). not taking enough strength, confidence and belief -- no matter what anyone else (especially the public or the paparazzi) said or thought -- from the fact that he was a good dad (whatever else you could say about him, he was). 2). And, just based on tonight's show, and if he wanted, at all, to save his marriage: his supposed refusal to discuss anything regarding his feelings, or the family's recent situation, with Kate.

No couple -- not one -- ever solved a relationship problem without being willing to talk together.

 

wfw

 

The thing that struck me about tonight's show was Jon. He looked so beat-down, so exhausted. There was no life anywhere in his eyes.

That being said, at this point, if they're fighting in front of the kids, it's time to divorce. The kids are getting old enough to know that Mommy and Daddy aren't getting along anymore. My cousins are getting a divorce right now and their kids are six and three and have been telling me for over a year about the fighting. The kids KNOW that something is wrong. It will be a much happier life for them all around once it all stops.

It sounds like they've already gotten the entire custody situation worked out and everything. I think he genuinely wants to still be in the kids' lives and everything. I would just say the pressure of being on TV and being a celebrity when it's very likely that he didn't really want it in the first place finally got to him.

Like everyone else has said, it's neither of them's fault completely. Both are at fault in this situation. It's time to be adults and do what's best for the kids and not be looking out for No. 1 (I'm looking at Kate here).