“For the Kids…”

I know I’m not the only one who watched last night’s episode of Jon & Kate plus 8. The Twittersphere was ablaze with Team Jon and Team Kate supporters.

Anyone who has been watching the show could guess what the “big announcement” would be even before yesterday’s episode. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the marriage has been dwindling to nothingness. I mean there are new photo’s, blogs and articles written almost daily on what the one or other parent is doing, helping viewers and readers form their opinions about them.

The thing is… it’s not about being a Team Jon or Team Kate supporter. It’s not about who is more or less at fault that their marriage is failing/has failed. They are both at fault… plain and simple. Somewhere between having eight kids and being the stars of a reality TV show, it seems that they each have forgotten that the other exists. They seem to have forgotten that before it all, they loved each other and the quirks and faults that they both had.

It bothers me that there are so many people out there talking about who’s to blame for it… why it’s his fault over hers or the other way around… I sometimes feel like shouting “It’s reality TV and the producers will cut and edit to get the angle that they want!” Who knows what goes on behind closed doors after everyone is gone. In the TV world it’s all about ratings and all the drama has made for great viewership.

The whole situation is sad because this decision will not only affect the parents, but more importantly it will also affect those eight children, who will never be the same. I was lucky… my parents divorced after I had moved out of the house… I had the “happy family” childhood. That wasn’t quite the case for my brother and youngest sister… and even though I was older my parents divorce still affected me and helped form me into the adult that I am now. I can’t say how it will be for the Gosselin children, but I’m sure their lives will be very different from what it may have been.

I guess I’m a little surprised that Jon and Kate didn’t seek some sort of counseling… it’s not to say that it would have changed the outcome, but it may have helped. I’m sure that there is some high-profile counselor/therapist out there who would offer up their services for a little extra PR. I mean come on… they’ve allowed other reality celebs on the show, why not one more… you know “for the kids”.