Monday
May252009
Mo' money, mo' problems
Monday, May 25, 2009 
Jon: I hate you. Look at my left hand. I can't even stand to touch you.Kate: Just pretend I'm some barely legal slut. Swear to God, if I don't get an Us Weekly cover out of this, I will shove that tiki torch so far up your ass your hair plugs will pop out.
Are you going to watch this nonsense tonight?
Reader Comments (46)
I just read the RHONY will make "upward of $30k each" next season. Do you suppose, since the John and Kate viewership is larger and the budget to produce may be less, that they are making upward of $180k per episode at least??
um of course...
This trainwreck....yes (Said emphatically)!
yes i will be!
and then i will follow it up with the bachelorette!
gotta love these shows
I had no idea who these two were until last week and wish I could go back to being blissfully unaware. Just based on what I've read about them, no, I will not be watching.
I can't look away...her hedgehog hair draws me in. The parents income relies on them staying together and taking care of the kids. Him going to a bar and perhaps cheating is like me going to work and doing lines of coke at my desk. Neither happen by accident and both will get you fired.
I can't. While typically I'm all for good, dirty "reality" TV dramz my heart just goes out for the kids. They might not realize what's going on right now (or according to Dr. Phil, they probably do- Dr. Phil is my favorite talk show slut, I can't help it!) but they'll definitely realize it when they hit oh, that awkward late-elementary-school-to-middle-school age and their classmates figure out who they are and what's going on.
And taunt them with it as they push them into their lockers or shove them down at recess. Those kids didn't ask to have two soulless attention whores as parents, you know?
Cargo pants for your wedding ceremony? Oof.
I HAVE to watch this! And...I am so ashamed.
I have been an off again/on again viewer of this show, but the "People Magazine" headline this week, coupled with a spring cold sucked me into the "Jon & Kate Plus 8 Weekend Marathon". Let's just have an accounting shall we: 3 houses each bigger than the one before (and now we're pretty much up to a McMansion), they've been to Disney World, skiing in the Mountains (with full ski outfits for everyone), Hawaii, California, spas, got a tummy tuck and hair plugs..been to every theme park, zoo and children's museum, on the East Coast--they've ridden this gravy train pretty much back to the station and now they are looking at each other going "Who ARE you?"
Too bad too, because I think they started out as a truly, loving couple, in it for all the right reasons...However, I noticed in the series this weekend, the blonder and thinner she became, the more she nagged and nitpicked Jon, made fun of his grammar, his parenting skills--and pretty much emasculated him! I imagine he must have gotten text messages from his guy friends saying "DUDE, WTF?"
HOWEVER...cynic that I am...it is possible that the network said if you bring in these huge ratings, we'll give you an oil well or a small country! After all...THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!
Absolutely.
Central PA Girl
When you treat your husband like your oldest child, well, not likely to last.
Me thinks that Jon had a cocktail or three before the first interview session on the season premiere.
Lovin' how Kate says "I will never have a nanny", yet Jon is the one who's home more with the kids and "he has help."
Totally awkward final interview, neither looks at each other or even says the other's name. Allow me to translate for you--
KATE
"Well, I am here for my kids, and live and breathe for my kids."--and the thought of becoming the next Oprah.
"Let's handle this in the most constructive way possible"--let's do what we can to keep the show going so that I can become the next Oprah.
"He doesn't feel that great about me so he wants me to travel"--he finally woke up and realized that I'm a super-controlling nasty bitch to him so he likes it when I'm gone.
JON
"I never cheated on Kate"--I totally banged that chick who was photographed in a bikini in my front yard.
"That was just me and my personality"--doing body shots off coeds at the bar while supposedly caring for my ailing mother.
I watched it. I just thought it was sad. Neither one seems like a big ogre to me, but then again, we see only what they want us to see.
Did you get a load of their new ESTATE? Holy crap. And what was with Jon's little sportscar?
Oy vey. I wish them well.
My stomach churns thinking about it.
I'm with Chloe on this 100%.
SGM, not only Jon's little sportscar---they have three others, not shown on TV.
Katie Irene grew up in a nice mobile home park. Her dad is a pastor and when she found out she was expecting seven (which turned out to be six) his church donated cribs. They didn't all MATCH so she gave them back. Now she's estranged from her folks because "they didn't know how to help her." The grandparents only know their offspring thanks to cable tv.
Fast forward to her 1.3 million dollar mansion and after 5 seasons, this episode was all about "the paparazzi." Odd.
The 'tups birthday party was a "re-creation" for the cameras. This show is far more fake than Bravo could dream up.....
I feel bad for the kids. The older twins have a bodyguard take them to their private school and stand outside their classroom. Kate is gone more than half the year on book tours for books she no more WROTE by herself than Bethenny or Luanne....yet, the true author WAS a friend, but has now been disowned by Kate (much like Kate's family).
I hate that I know so much about these people, but TLC had a whole weekend leading up to tonight's sad episode. Come on--both parents are home, full time, and just bought that million+ dollar home (while notw even bothering to sell their previous one). Kate, before her marriage had never been on an airplane, but she now demands first class tickets (for her and her bodyguard/alleged paramour).
At the end of last season, the husband didn't want to continue taping, but Kate is in for the cash. Unlike the Housewives, they get 50k per episode and tape **40** episodes a year...not your measely 12 for RHofNY. We're talking ka-ching, ka-ching.
When the tups were born, PA only allowed a baby nurse for a year and Kate protested that they were a special circumstance and deserved special treatment. The Governor set up college funds for each kid. Now that they are rolling in the dough, shouldn't they (ethically) pay something back? Well, don't ponder that too long---they don't think so.
It's a sad situation, but if they were part of the NYC or OC cast, we'd find the humor. If it weren't for the litter, I mean, bunch of kids, it might be funny. Kate is scary....but after watching John's eyes dart around as he said that he loves "his kids and his family," was it ever in doubt that he soooo cheated?
I never pegged you for a Jon and Kate + 8 fan, but before last Thursday, I had no idea who they were either!!
Now if you didn't know who they were before last Thursday, how do you know so much inside information now? It's unfortunate, too, that you're using the name of someone that used to be on the show (who I'd be very surprised would spill on a friend, even one she might no longer be close to.) How is it that "PA only allowed a baby nurse for a
year" The state of PA provides baby nurses? Again, how do you know so much about these people?
Anyway, I just found it sad, sad, sad.
Ann
I wish I didn't watch. All I saw was bitterness, anger, and resentment. Obviously there is much we don't know and the "supposed" reunion show was a sham.
60% commercials, 38% boring children's party and 2% Jon and Kate on a couch making vague statements. Never heard anything about, family counseling, love or commitment... the conversation that you would expect if they were really "there for the children" or are "all about the children."
it made me sad and all I could think about was the first reality show, back in the 1970's with the Loud family (American Family?)
So great, Jon and Kate leave a visual legacy for their children of their marriage imploding...
I hope it has all been worth it.
I think it was a sad show. Basically, it looks to me like they turned their lives into a business, and now Jon wants his life back. You'd think they'd have enough money by now for them to quit with the "business" and go back to "real" life. Jon could get a job again, and Kate could stay home and be the best mom that she claims to want to be.
oh, and they are surprised that people follow them around with cameras.
Oh, and one more thing!
Kate said that she never wants the children to feel as though they are to blame.... and then out of the other side of her mouth she recites a statistic about the high divorce rate among couples with multiples! How about the high divorce rate among couples who do reality shows, that would have been a more appropriate statistic!
I really have to get a life.
I usually don't watch, but couldn't sleep last night and I landed on it when I was surfing. As a child of divorce, let's say after watching about 10 minutes, it brought back some bad memories. They are done. TLC needs to please pull the plug on this trainwreck. Those poor kids...
"Beth" and any other readers who are from the same county as the Gosselins ~ please, stop yourselves. You're an embarrassment to the county, more than the Gosselins. Yes, the Governor set up college funds and yes, the state paid for nursing care and yes, their church was incredibly generous but none of that took anything away from you personally. For every mention of the Gosselins in the local paper that generates waaaaaay more feedback than the actual challenges this place is facing, I drink a shot in celebration of just how small minded my neighbors are. While I don't pity them in the least, I do cringe at how much vicious envy they evoke in us, including myself at times. That envy is why I can't watch the show for more than five minutes. Well, that and the Hair Don't.
My point is, they don't negatively impact our lives here (an occasional inconvenience perhaps but not as much as City Council or the lack of public parking in West Reading, etc.) and none of us are suffering from being their neighbors so stop it with the rumour mongering. Unless you can tell me where I can get my hair done by Kate's stylist .....
I have been watching this shit of a show since the beginning. This family is a hot mess. It makes me feel better about my dysfunctional ways.
I am very torn by what it happening and what is being said. For one thing, as has been said by many, if given the opportunity to have a film crew here taping my every move for money, I might just jump at it given the fact that I am currently paying outrageous tuition bills for 3 college age children and one in private high school. I know, I know, it is my choice to send them to the schools that they attend, but why is that a bad thing? Isn't a parent supposed to want what is best for his/her child? If I could get help paying tuition, why not?
People slam Kate for dressing nicer, getting her nails done, etc. Wouldn't you? Just because she has 8 kids doesn't mean that she has to walk around dressed like an old hag. Again, she now has some extra money to spend on things like that. Wouldn't you treat yourself as well, or would you still live like you didn't have two nickels to rub together?
As for her attitude toward Jon, she is indeed harsh at times, but I think most of you who take her to task for it must be unmarried. If I had a dollar for every time my girlfriends and I sat around and talked about how our husbands just don't get it and how frustrating that is, I wouldn't need to be on a reality show to pay tuition bills. And, if I did have film crews in this house taping our every waking moment, I can guarantee that there would be less than loving dialogue a great deal of the time. You must all live in fantastic homes where never a harsh word escapes your lips.
Jon said in some interview that he need time away from the kids. Get a clue my friend, we all need time away from our kids. There are ways to get that time without hooking up with women in bars.
I agree with those who say Jon should get a job outside of the house so he will get some purpose back in his life and spend time with other adults. As a mom who works out of the house, I miss the daily interaction with co-workers, but this is the choice that I made and it works for my family.