What? No Jon&Kate debates/discussions yet? Or, am I the only one willing to admit I watch this show?! ;o)

For those that do watch, do you think they'll divorce, work through it all or it this all an elaborate publicity stunt? (Kate said it herself: "I mean, if I paid you $20000, who knows what you'd say?" and well, they get paid $50-75,000 per episode...)

HPL

I have only seen one or two episodes, but I have read all the recent tabloid articles about the mess. I have never liked Kate from what I have seen and read. I don't blame John if he did step out on her. The image she projects to the public is so caustic.
I can certainly see where the whole blow-up could be a publicity stunt to gain ratings for the show. Maybe there is nothing going on with him and the teacher or her and the bodyguard, but they are milking it for the publicity.

When you see how messed up child stars can become (ron howard, jodi foster being exceptions to the rule) it will be interesting to see how these children grow up after their unusual "reality star" childhood. What can your childhood be like when being on TV is the normal thing...what happens when all the attention goes away?

Since I work out of Philly, a lot of the flight attendants live around Berks County, Lancaster County etc and there is a lot of talk among us---especially since folks do see them out and about in the community.

-Amanda from Seattle

The premier episode was almost painful to watch... stunt or not.

I actually caught an episode once because I saw you guys talking about this show. I really don't know how they got all of those kids . . . are they all theirs?

Anyways, this was before the whole "cheating" issue came up . . but watching him, I was like "he's not happy". So, when I heard he was cheating, I kinda shrugged and thought "well, he did not look happy."

slick kitty

are they all theirs?

Yep... artificial insemination.
HPL

I was never a regular watcher, and I haven't watched any episodes for the past couple of seasons. A big reason that I stopped watching completely is because Kate is soooooooooo controlling and it is very hard to watch. Just chill, woman! I think her attitude is a big part of why their marriage is in trouble, and I feel rather sorry for Jon. And I really don't think the media is helping.

TG

are they all theirs?

Yep... artificial insemination.

And she was a nurse and supposedly knew what she was doing.....religious reasons are why she took all children to term (although some of the worst quotes about them are from the church that they supposedly go to in PA!!)

-Amanda from Seattle

I watch faithfully but have been having problems with my satellite so have missed the last 2 weeks of all my TLC shows... was it bad? I don't know what to think about their issues, but I do know the statistics but families with multiples have a much much higher rate of divorce than the rest of us, it's a miracle they made it this long if they do indeed end up splitting. Try to put yourselves in their shoes with the stress of raising 8 very young children, and see how nice you would be all the time, even Michelle Dugger (18 kids and counting) said that was the worse, the first 6 kids when they were all little. (I know another very touchy family subject there) I know with 6 kids under 4 here I'm not a happy person all the time either... unfortunately once you get in a rut like that you take for granted your family loves you and you stop trying to be nice.

I watch the show all the time and Sharkboy loves it! I think he thinks all those little girls are cute and possibly even wishes we had cameras following us around all the time. ;)

Regarding Kate:
She totally admits she's been hard on Jon. Her life is falling apart around her and she is putting on a good face for the kids which is soooo hard. While she seemed very sad on the couch, she actually seemed happier than usual at the kids party. I think in his own way, Jon drover her crazy by not being type A. Seriously, type A people just can't deal with non type A's. We make them nuts by being so laid back, so I hope she can find somebody more like herself. I really think she would be much happier with a high strung person. Weird, but true. I admire her work ethic; but, I do thing she needs to cut her speaking engagements in half right now. Her kids need her now more than ever.

Regarding Jon
He obviously looks miserable. Personally, I have very strong feelings about marriage and the vows one takes and I do not believe there is ANY excuse to step out on your spouse. If you feel like you want to do that, you need to do the right thing and get a divorce and free yourself from the legal union you entered into. Lots of dad's stay home and watch their kids and don't feel the need to run out to bars till all hours of the night. I hope he likes his new sports car too! In my humble opinion, I have noticed unhappy family men will tend to go out and buy very expensive car's that their entire family cannot fit in, just to get away from them. He whines about not going out when he was younger and missing out; but, once you have a family the kids should become your priority. You can go out and carry on once they are grown. Till then, you need so suck it up and do your job. I think somebody needs to drag Peter Pan back from never-never land and give him some happy pills so he can remember who he is.

The hard part...

They are in a real financial bind here. The new home they just moved into is super expensive and both mom and dad quit their jobs and have chosen a new career of being reality superstars with a salary that does not come anywhere close to their previous salary. In a perfect world, they could just quit the show, go back to work at their previous jobs and life would go back to normal; but, we do not live in utopia. Jon's reckless actions have turned them into a paparazzi goldmine and there are real security issues now. Bodyguards are needed, you can't just get anybody as a babysitter anymore, security at home is a must, publicists are needed etc. All these things cost big bucks. In the middle of all this are eight little children who need to be kept safe. I just don't think its as simple as quitting the show. Once you are famous, you just don't become un-famous. I hear stories in the news all the time about former starts who have dropped into obscurity, then get a dui or a fist fight and the media is all over them again. Its hard.

So, there's my 2 cents.
"m

I know that Kate is very hard to deal with, but what they got themselves into is very hard to deal with.

What infuriates me is Jon. He made the comment that he can not be just Jon. He is always Jon and Kate plus 8. Well isn't that what he signed up for. First he signed the marriage certificate making him Jon and Kate. Then he signed the doctor agreement making him plus 8. Maybe he did not ask for all 8. But he signed the agreement to put 6 eggs in knowing the possibilities. Most of us did not even have to sign and agreement to have children. He did. So he had to even put more thought into having kids to make him plus 8. Now that he has them, he feels sad because he can not have his fun time. He should have thought about that before starting the 'family' process.

I do feel sorry for him, but stepping out is not the answer.

that's my 2 cents
5

It was an extremely hard thing to watch from the first opening to the end.

I think he made some poor choices. And even as poorly as he gets treated (in front of his kids no less), he himself made those choices...whatever or if anything really has happened.
She is impossible...and no I am not a Kate basher...but for pete's sake, who gets by with the way she treats him and those kids.

I actually quit watching the show weekly when I had seen one where they were in a store and she was yelling at him to come over to 'her lane'...I was so embarrassed for him and the kids. But I will catch one here and there to see if I could be overreacting...no I'm not.

And could she not wipe their butts!!!! Or am I just catching the shows that she was always yelling at him and telling him to do it...even to come from outside in one show to go do it!

The saddest thing was when the one little girl told him she did not want him to leave!

Did anyone notice how many times she said she was doing this or that by herself?
And this was her job (being away) and just seemed to me that it was 'all about her'.

I will so not feel sorry for her even though that is what it appeared to me that it was trying to be...but I will and have ALWAYS felt so sorry for the kids.

Did anyone catch her brother and his wife on the Early Show this morning? It was hard to even watch their emotional responses.

So if this is all for publicity I would think we all would be quite angry at them and the show would be history...as I think it should be.

What is so real about any 'reality' show?

kk

religious reasons are why she took all children to term (although some of the worst quotes about them are from the church that they supposedly go to in PA!!)

Maybe so but I can understand why she would take all of them to term if she feels that not doing so would be killing a life. Not to say she's a great person but that still doesn't mean she's ready to end a life. Nobody yell, I'm just saying that aside from what person she has become I can understand this aspect.

I didn't watch it, because i was really disappointed to hear they were doing a new season after everything in the tabloids. kate said once that they would stop doing the show when it started to interfere with their lives and family. It obviously has, but she's obviously more concerned about the money and fame now. It's unfortunate for those beautiful children.

I know I'm still defending Kate here but I fell this statement is a little unfair

Yep... artificial insemination.

And she was a nurse and supposedly knew what she was doing

What Kate did was IUI - InterUterine Insemination. Meaning she took fertility drugs to help her ovulate and then Jon's sperm was injected into her cervix. There is no way of knowing how many eggs will fertilize, if any at all.

IVF - InvitroFertilization is what the lady with octuplets did. Meaning she took fertility drugs to make her ovaries produce eggs, the eggs were extracted from her ovaries and mixed with sperm then the embryos were implanted into her cervix.

What Kate did was IUI - InterUterine Insemination. Meaning she took fertility drugs to help her ovulate and then Jon's sperm was injected into her cervix. There is no way of knowing how many eggs will fertilize, if any at all.

I don't understand why people do this *or* AI. *Especially* a couple that already has two children. If she's religious, then why wasn't she happy with what God gave her? If she (or anyone else who) wants more children, why didn't she use the money spent on IUI and fertility drugs to adopt a child?

I just don't get it.

MHO,
(happily and gratefully adopted) 3H

I somewhat agree, I just hope any family who makes any of the possible decisions to expand their family does not take it lightly, including unassisted conceptions.

From what I remember, they were only trying for one more, not multiples. And depending on how you view your relationship with God, trying IUI and asking that He would help them get pregnant as they used the available technology is within the bounds of trusting in your faith.

Knowing a couple who has tried IUI, it's actually less expensive that adoption.

I've read this thread and saw that a number of people are mistaken about how they got the sextuplets. It wasn't artificial insemination or in vitro, it was Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).

That means that the man's sperm is injected directly into a woman's uterus. In order to increase the chances of that working, the woman is also put on medication to stimulate egg production. The fact that they had six was because that was how many eggs were released by her ovary and fertilized and implanted, NOT that they willingly had six embryos deliberately implanted.

They didn't know that six eggs were present, although they did know that the procedure upped the chances of having multiples. I don't know how I would react in the same situation once discovering that there would be such a risky pregnancy involved, honestly, but we can't condemn them for trying to have a third kid, which is what they wanted, and we can't suggest that they had any idea that they could wind up with 6. The whole matter is discussed in their book, including the despair they felt upon hearing that there were 6 viable embryos.

That said, I feel awful for them and the kids. One can't place blame on one party or another- there are always two sides. Is Kate overly controlling? Probably yes. Does she want that show more than Jon? It seems so. I think it's easy to hate her. But to those who pity Jon for having to stay home with the kids while Kate went on tours for her book, I am reminded that initially, Kate was the one home with those kids, without Jon, for years. And having lots of kids is just not an excuse for having an affair, regardless of whether Jon or Kate or both had one.

And it's sadly the state of media supporting the actions of the paparazzi that has made it much worse for them. Instead of being able to deal with their personal struggle privately, now they have to do it in front of cameras no matter where they go. I think it's reprehensible that photographers were taking unauthorized photos of their family at a child's 5-year-old birthday party. Where is the decency? Where is any respect for boundaries? Ugh.

It's just sad to see a relationship in trouble, period.

HKP, you made an iteresting point about how Kate used to be the one to stay home for years. She was the one who initially left her career to care for the kids and I know they did not have as much help back then. She had to do a lot more on her own and the kids were so much younger requiring much more hands on care.

Also, she has stated that Jon has had help. I know they have at least one full time girl who helps with the kids and a bunch of other little helpers here and there as well. The door does swing both ways though. When Kate was saying how she was doing the party preparations on her own, I was thinking about the help in the background that we don't always see.

I think she may have been expressing more of the loneliness and loss that she is feeling right now. Even in a bad relationship, there is still a certain amount of intimacy and she has been quoted saying that they have basically lost or alienated all of their friends. At this point, all they have left are the paid help and camera's....kind of like Britney Spears. Its a really sucky place to be when your only friends are on the payroll.

Its all so hard. Am I the only one who thinks that Jon may be suffering from clinical depression? I seriously wonder if he had a good psychiatrist and some mood stabilizing medication and they both got some really good marriage counseling where they gave it 110%, perhaps they could save their marriage.

I think she may have been expressing more of the loneliness and loss that she is feeling right now.

Exactly what I was thinking...

Am I the only one who thinks that Jon may be suffering from clinical depression?

I don't know, I just kept thinking- "Wow, he really needs to put on his big boy pants and grow up"

some really good marriage counseling where they gave it 110%, perhaps they could save their marriage.

Very likely.

Plus it could be good for ratings.

I can't help but to think that if it were me... and my family and marriage were suffering THAT much... I'd just quit. Screw the show, the fans, the paparazzi... get life back in order and move on.

know they did not have as much help back then. She had to do a lot more on her own and the kids were so much younger requiring much more hands on care.

Kate herself has said just the opposite of this.
And in certain shows they even show that certain days people come in for certain jobs....for instance the lady that folded all the clothes, and then the ladies that come in the following day to put them all away, and then the ones that came and help feed all those babies.
So no she NEVER did most of it herself....ever!

Obviously they both have had help...but she just recently said that as the kids have gotten older they no longer need all the help that they have always had.

It's just so sad...and what is more sad is that they want this to be on tv...that is so not for the kids.

kk

Yes, you are right. I do remember she had help, like the laundry lady and there of course had to be a certain amount of help, just from a logistical standpoint. Its physically impossible for one person to bottle feed six babies at one time and care for two other youngsters. I *think* in most day cares there is a ratio of 1 caregiver per 4 babies. I think that may be a law too. Anything less than that could put the kids at risk, so she probably had to have at least one other person with her in the day time, if not two.

We did a whole lot of IUIs, and each time we did a medicated one there were scans showing how many eggs were ready to go.

Our doc also talked to us about selective reduction if more than three were fertilized. I'm about Kate's frame and he thought any more than three would be really dangerous for me or babies. It's an awful conversation, and we decided to never do anything that would result in more than twins so we didn't have to face that decision.

So, I am suprised that they were suprised there were six babies.

4ch
IUI/IVF grad with one healthy baby (6 yrs old) and one "baby" through marriage (17 yo)

I've never really watched it, but you can watch full episodes on TLC.com. I watched the episode with the vow renewal in Hawaii, and it was so sad, because Kate kept saying, "The kids can see this, and this will help them know that Mommy and Daddy will be together forever." She kept saying that. "Together forever." Made me cringe.

Maybe somebody should sit Jon and Kat down and make them watch that episode again.

TG

And depending on how you view your relationship with God, trying IUI and asking that He would help them get pregnant as they used the available technology is within the bounds of trusting in your faith.

I think that definitely is in the eye of the beholder. To me, it seems that a religious person would view artificial means of reproduction to be "playing god", and using science to manipulate his will. But what do I know? I'm not religious. :o)

3H