Expanded to accommodate its audience’s questions, Jon + Kate Plus Eight’s “You Ask, Kate Answers” hour-long special was, as Kate herself put it, a “long, long long special.”
But it certainly wasn’t without interest. For one thing, Kate is now completely up-front about her ambitions. “I feel like this is normal,” she said of being in front of a camera. “I would love to be in a movie at some point,” said Kate. “I’d like to be the voice in a cartoon for my kids… [and] I would love for my TV career to be successful.”
To the question of whether there’s money set aside solely for the children, Kate said, “There is a healthy amount of money put away, and it is safe and will not be touched.” (Think she had anyone in mind when she chose those words?) In this context, an old clip was rerun that is now freshly fascinating: Jon and Kate in the good old days, meeting with a financial advisor. He proposes an account that the kids could access “upon completion of college or at age 30.” Kate liked that.
Jon, a little slower in understanding, said, “What if one of them wants to be a mechanic? You don’t go to college for that.” “Then he’ll get it when he’s 30!” Kate yelped, annoyed at his slowness. This, friends, was the kind of snappishness that started the whole Jon-is-whipped line of internet chatter that, I am convinced as a J&K-watcher from the start, spurred Jon to eventually leave the marriage.
Speaking of marriage, one viewer asked whether she’d marry again. “I really don’t want to be married again, but I don’t want to be alone,” she said.
Sitting in what looked like the interview set that’s built in her Pennsylvania home, Kate fielded what she termed “the reasonable questions” sent in by viewers.
Asked about how much help she has these days, she said she has “a full-time babysitter… a girl who cleans my house, and people to do the yard work.” “Does that sound pampered?” she asked rhetorically. “It’s called ’survival.’”
When told that people have waited up to eight hours for her at a book signing, Kate was then asked who she would wait eight hours to see. Julia Roberts, Tiger Woods, Matt Damon, and Patrick Dempsey were her list, with a little giggle and blush at the mention of Dempsey. Tabloids, start your engines!
You have to give Kate credit: She cheerfully allowed the producers to give us a montage of what she called her “flipping out” moments — those times over the years when she’s just lost it and yelled at the kids, as any over-worked, over-tired parent would do.
Asked about the misconceptions surrounding the show, Kate made it sound as though the end is definitely near. “It is really reality,” she said of Jon & Kate Plus Eight. “Nothing is staged… it’s not harmful to the kids. There have been nothing but positive experiences [for the children] and they never do anything they don’t want to do… I’m sad to see it go.”
Earlier in the day, Jon Gosselin put in his Monday media appearance: a Pennsylvania court, to explain draining and subsequently re-filling a fair amount from the couple’s joint bank account. (Kate, whose court appearance wasn’t required, was represented by her attorney.)
Oh, and a viewer asked, would Kate ever go back to her first career, as a nurse? “Nursing is my back-up career,” she said smoothly, if she can “find the time to renew my license this year.” Oh, I think she can find the time…
Did you watch? What do you think?
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Comments (1-15) of 396 Add your comment
Kate is pure evil. Why do you post this crap. Every time I look at her my skin crawls. Please stop putting the media whore on ew.com. It’s for my own health!
I gotta agree here, she’s such a highly-strung angry, whingy woman that I feel sorry for Jon, even if he is a bit slow. Watching the older clips of them together it’s clear that many kids was never a good idea. They probably would have lasted if not for the child-induced stress. I recently watched the episode where they leave the old house and Jon is upset about throwing away things from his dad. Kate’s responses of “throw it all in the bin” made me want to punch her! She didn’t have time to help Jon at a time he really needed support and having lost my parents recently the lack of sympathy made me sick!
When you have a husband for an idiot, you have to be the superior partner and make your “ninth” child mind and play well with others. I think Kate is great and a very good mother. If Kate had not picked up the trash of Jon when she was young, he would be nothing! You go girl!
He may be an idiot, but she’s a shrill be-otch and they deserve each other. If I had married some like Kate who yelled at me all the time. I would have been gone a long time ago.
Jackie,
I agree with you all the way. I was married to a guy just like Jon. We had 4 kids and instead of wanting to be a responsible parent he started dating a 16 year old. Did I mention he was 30 at the time. Needless to say I moved on and am better for it. He is broke and his younger, second wife finally saw the light and divorced him too. Meanwhile I find a strong man willing to raise the ex’s kids as his own.
Kate has to take responsibility for belittling her partner, which is totally unacceptable behavior, and on national television no less! She CHOSE him, it’s not like she was forced to marry him, so you’d think she would treat him a little better. She’s trashy herself, I totally agree with Zach, they deserve each other. With 8 kids they BOTH should have tried harder.
Marriage and parenting are hard and not for everyone. Jon wants to be a “cool guy”, so he can’t be married to a controlling partner, MUCH LESS HAVE 8 KIDS! Kate wants to be the super-parent, so she can’t be married to a selfish man who just can’t see that, after 8 kids, it is not about him anymore, and doing “guy things” is out of the question.
I hope this mess sparks a real conversation in this country, not about divorce, parenting, or celebrity, but about the idea that everyone has to get married, or that everyone has to have kids.
she had kids for the money. she was infatuated by families with multiples….
she married jon for the money.
when she says kids she means money. so whenever she says “i did it for the kids,” she is secretly saying “i did it for the money.”
I totally agree with you. I was in a marriage that required me to take charge in order to survivie. I can relate to what Kate went through tenfold. She is doing a great job with her kids. He is too in a sense he always got to be the “fun” parent. Maybe now that he is out of the picture she can find someone that is up to her level. Go Kate!
Zach, you are so right> kaTE IS AN IDIOT. 1 babysitter, someone who cleans the house and gardeners..Sound Pampered–ABSOLUTELY..what does she do–Jackie she is as much trash as jon is. Neither is concerned with the kids. Its all about THEM. I can t believe you woman feel that way
please stop dogging jon. while i do not agree with his present choices and no longer watch the show, i did watch from the beginning. he had a successful IT job that supported his family and he supported his family and kate. he was its backbone. i’m totally amazed how so many people forget that now and how kate suddenly became this saint. i admire how she has taken control of a bad situation, but that does not negate her bad treatment of jon all those years. i had a mother like kate who totally belittled my dad every time he moved. my sister and i wished he’d gotten out because now as an old man he’s incapable of making decisions. he looks 2 us. a lovely man, who worked hard for 33 years, made some mistakes, but we are unsuccessful at making him independent. my mother, may she rest in peace, remained the emotionally detached shrew always in control, but really not happy, until she died. while we appreciate the foundation they gave us, i had to work out the emotional issues in therapy to be successful in life. my sister ignored them and she’s an unhappy person.
Rennee,While jon was so called working, as you said you watched the show from the beginning. He was getting paid for the show too! Jon is a total loser the fact you can’t see that means to me that you have never had to pick up the slack for a partner(husband)who is self absorbed or selfish and lazy. All you saw was a few moments in their lives.Too bad you see your mother as a loser who belittled her husband, if only she would have told you the truth but im sure she didnt because she didnt want to hurt your relationship with your dad.Of course you have to help your Dad with decisions! Do you really think that is NOT his fault?
To a point, Kate is much worse than Jon. At least with Jon wanting the show to end, the children won’t be exploited any longer.
Typical of an overbearing control freak tryimg to belittle the man that loved her.His only crime was putting up with her sorry ass for so long.
Amen sister…had one of those myself…
Just turn it off dear.. then you won’t have to watch her..
Just don’t read it Zach. Your doctor will thank you.
Exactly. The Octo-mom was making me want to weep every time I saw her and her brood. Just had to cut it out of my life. If the Gosselins do it to you, just cut ‘em out. Personally, I’ll be here until the last camera rolls. I am strangely fascinated by them.
Why do you read it then? Wouldn’t it be simpler to ignore it? Stop whining
Guaranteed!
People who think Kate is a good mother amaze me. She may love her kids, I think Jon does too but FAME is more important to her than anything else. Her acting like the kids have a choice in any of this is beyond ridiculous. She was a terrible wife, he is a terrible ex-husband. Who cares about anybody but the kids?
…because nobody else is going to pay for that silly hairdo, expensive manicures, tanning-bed sessions, etc., etc., etc.
Jon slept with at lest 2 babysitters and who knows how many other women all the while he was living a lie! This is NOT A MAN OF STRENGTH, not a person to take home to daddy! Kate may have been justified in the way that she treated him! The guy has no moral qualities and those type of men usually have no real qualities! Trash attracts trash! Jon attracts trash while Kate has a lot of good qualities!
I LIKE Kate, love the kids and enjoyed the show. Jon was likable and didn’t seem like an arse throughout most of it, but obviously he let what others said get to him and his marriage. His loss as he won’t see his kids nearly as often and vice versa.(I hope he gets a real job soon) I don’t pity them as reality tv as a living is a ridiculous way to go, but I wish them well and hope those kids don’t hate their parents forever for whats goin’ on. I’m sending nothing but positiviteness their way. And for people who hate the show, what is it that makes you read these postings about the show and get so enraged to post something? Same as if you don’t like the show don’t watch it-don’t click on the POST for/about it. I know, I know, freedom of speech….still take a pill and go find a post about something you do like.
I’m sick of Kate. There is not a special, commercial, movie, or cartoon that I would watch IF she has anything to do with it. In fact I am really tired of reality TV period.
Zach you sound so immature. Have you ever taken care of one child forget eight. Jon was spineless..as an adult if she didn’t like how he was being treated he should of had a conversation with his wife 8years ago instead of now complaining
Thank you Ken for the synopsis of the show as I missed this episode! I say Go-Kate-Go. She is a great example of putting a positive spin on having 8 children, of course she has help! I have one, & I’ve hired my share of nanny’s/sitters & housecleaners, & I am not rich either. Go Kate Go. Someday you will find a very good man too! You deserve praise in my book, I can’t imagine taking care of 8 children. Praying for you too.
I’m really sympathetic to Kate. I used to not like her but there’s no excuse for Jon’s mid-life crisis. It really doesn’t seem like he’s thinking of his kids.
I 100% agree with you!
it’s called an emotional break. if i married that shrew i’d have ptsd.
kate = chris brown. except she uses verbal/emotional abuse. if the gender roles were reversed, you sheeple would not be following her.
kate should marry balloon boy’s dad (as it looks like mayumi might leave him). they are both from the same planet: planet ego
Let me get this straight. It’s okay for Kate to yell at Jon, belittle and make fun of him, but when he gets tired of the ABUSE (and yes, it is ABUSE) and decides to check out of the marriage, he’s the bad guy!! Get over it already.
He didnt just check out of the marraige he put himself before his own children! He could have spoke up and demanded that they see a counslor told her I want to get Divorced if we cant work this out! But no he drank and smoked and slept with a home wrecker oh poor Jon the evil lady made him do it! His children resent him! He wanted his cake and eat it too. No can do Jon. bye bye…
You have never experienced verbal abuse…. believe me, this was not abuse. He acted as if he could not understand what was needed whenever he felt like not doing something. He was passive/aggressive and there was no way to put us with that in that family dynamic. I can not understand why she did not walk out first, years ago.
Holy mother of irrationality Sal – have you ever spoken to a woman who deeply loves her children and will do whatever it takes for them?? Kate’s true intent is crystal clear. She is a good mother, she takes care of herself. Since when is that a bad thing? Kate and her children will be fine. Jon and his hoochie of the week – I wouldn’t bet any dimes on their chances.
According to Jon (AND KATE’s Brother and wife) Jon did want to go to marital counseling but Kate refused. Also, she was the one who said it was over wayyyy back in October 2008. He went to counseling on his own. I think he just went buck wild at first and is calming down. Unfortunately, it made him look bad and Kate look like a saint.
I have no sympathy for Jon – if he didn’t like the dynamic of their relationship, he should have done something about it before agreeing to have kids with Kate. I’m sure he’s always known what type of person Kate is – did he think 8 kids would mellow her out? Don’t make the kids suffer because you never had the guts to stand up to your wife and chose to wait until you’re a ‘reality star’ to suddenly have this epiphany. Jon is weak, selfish and immature and I can’t wait until people finally stop paying attention to him.
I enjoyed it, so shoot me.
This is a joke, right? Kate really said she wanted to be in a movie. And people like Charlotte sympathize with her? This bitch has 8 kids, her movies should be of them. Poor babies. Only 5 and she has stars in her eyes.
TLC should do a farewell special where Kate meets a real family with 8 kids, where the parents have real jobs, live on a budget, don’t have paid help at home, don’t take vacations every couple of weeks, etc. Kate needs to quit whining about how broke she is and learn what a budget is. Large families manage on waaay less income than she has had. She needs to put her big fat ego aside and work on getting her kids more grounded and less pampered.
I second this!!! the show is not really reality.
and i stopped watching this a LONG time ago
I agree. Concentrate on raising decent kids and not have money as the first priority. A totally selfish person, just like her ex.
I don’t agree with you comment on being a real family. If you watched the show from the beginning, you would know that up until last year, this couple and their 8 kids struggled financially. If you have any kids at all, you know what a huge financial drain it is. Try taking 8 kids to the dentist, doctor or just buy groceries for that big of a family.
Nobody forced them to have 8 kids. No sympathy
i’d have to admit they were a real family in the beginning (or maybe they just did a better job acting). HOWEVER, today, they are as real as heidi and spencer. their names should be followed by *, just like barry bond’s record. they are all lies….
Stop the madness. This woman is who she is. She has gotten caught up in the hype and believes she is more than ‘her station’ in life. As for the dentist, it was Jon’s father’s practice and I’m sure they probably did pay for services for the most part. Jon was not so bright, she took advantage of that and now he is going overboard trying to prove his independence and manhood. There are other multiples families on TV that don’t have help at home but they have a different value system. Kate just talks about values. Right now she just shows how ’she’ is important and it’s about what she wants.
Having someone else clean your house and your yard is “survival”? I don’t think this woman knows what reality is.
My point is that there are large families all over America, many larger than hers, and they don’t turn to “reality” TV and tons of perks to make ends meet. They work hard and stretch resources and “make do.” Yes I do remember when they first brought the babies home, and it was nice to see them getting help then because they really needed it. But I again say that the most constructive thing anyone could ever do for that family is to teach Kate what a BUDGET is and how to use one. I cannot believe the wasteful consumerism she displays. Yes, things like crooked houses for all the kids and multiple vacations and remodeling an already great kitchen are nice, but she’s whining about being broke. With all those big paychecks this show has paid her, she and those kids should be in excellent financial shape. I can’t identify with her and I can’t sympathize for her. And I just plain don’t like her as a person.
well said!! of course reality TV had nothing whatsoever to do with reality
What all this crap boils down to is one thing – Kate Gosselin cared more about the money she was making from the show than she did about what it was doing to her marriage. Before the pressures of show ratings took over their lives, Jon and Kate actually got along quite well. But I’m sure TLC had something to say about how the show was “scripted” whether they want to acknowledge this or not.
She claims this is normal for her family. But that’s the whole point, it’s not normal.
I couldn’t agree more! As I am the second oldest of 6 who grew up in a single parent household(mom bailed) my dad had us all on a very strict budget. Even though we had our rough times my dad never asked for a handout, worked for his money, and always put our best interest before his. I feel incredibly sorry for those kids as they have 2 parents who only think about themselves, are money hungry, and are airing all their dirty laundry for the world to see. Money does not buy happiness.
Women like Kate are always being criticized by those who fear strong women. Kate has shown how strong she is by not bailing out of an already begun life the way Jon has when the going got tough. It takes a strong man to live with a strong woman and Jon obviously does not fill the bill. Good luck, Kate, in all you choose to do.
There’s a difference between a strong woman and a nagging bitch.
Strong Women tend to be man-hating lesbians who want men erased from the Earth or enslaved.
I’m hoping this is sarcastic.
I guess this means that all straight and/or married women are weak, according to The World of Urvy. I guess that makes me weak. And after all these years, I thought I was straight, independent, strong, and nice to men. Thanks for setting me straight, Urvy. Your intellect is utterly baffling.
If there weren’t so many Men acting like children or women (might I add men came out of the closet long before women did) Then Women would not have to take on the role as men. Men have become very weak, so I do not blame Kate for taking control. Jon is a tool.
We don’t wan’t all men erased from the earth, Urvy. Just YOU!
I know plenty of strong women that aren’t complete man hating bitches.
When a woman like here takes a man and repeatedly makes him feel stupid, he’s bound to react.
Why on earth The View gives this woman a voice is beyond me.
Kate is less strong than overbearing and mean-spirited. Jon is a selfish quitter. Both are idiots. Both did nothing to save their marriage. Both care more about themselves than their kids. Not sure why this is Kate vs Jon issue.
Exactly! Our focus should be what’s best for the kids — cause that’s not the focus of the parents. There shouldn’t be a Team Kate or a Team Jon, but a Team 8!
I agree, I’m was on neither parent’s side. I’m ALL for the kids.
I agree, Jason, but I would add that Jon is also not all that bright. In my experience, a strong woman is also a smart woman and a smart woman would NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS have kids with a stupid, selfish idiot like Jon. He took this long to leave her simply because he’s lazy and she stayed with him this long to stay on TV and line her pockets. They totally deserve each other. Let’s hope the kids’ trust funds will allow them to withdraw the money they’ll need for good therapists way before they get to college.
A strong woman is never a demeaning shrew like Kate G. She is a horrid self serving narcissist. She & Jon deserved each other because he is right behind her.
THEY should have screened each other more carefully before marrying.
Now they have produced 8 homely spoiled progeny in a home they can ill afford with no jobs or prospects.
They are PATHETIC!
Did it make you feel better about yourself to put down 8 defenseless children who have no control over who their parents are? Want to see something TRULY pathetic? Look in the mirror, a$$hole.
I dont think is about being a strong woman, is about respecting your partner, you dont scream and treat them as childs, even if they are not that mature you get more with love than without it. I think she is too bossy and at time she should have thought twice before opening her mouth.
Jon was a child himself..he never stepped up unless directed to do so
Nothing wrong with a strong woman, but treat your spouse with respect. It seemed like he could never do anything right. That time she yelled across toys r us at him, I was embarrassed for her! I would have left her right there and then in the parking lot. It’s disgraceful how she treated him.
I, too, admire Kate for how she is holding herself and her children together. Jon, on the other hand, is as selfish as they come. He is always contradicting himself … says one thing and then completely turns around and says something totally opposite! He is trying so hard to bring Kate down, and then talks about how all he cares about is his children. What happens when his children eventually read about how he “despises Kate,” and about his relationship with Halley, about their trip to Paris and their romantic horse and carriage ride in New York? Did he have his children on his mind during those times? I think not!
the kids will do whatever the script writers tell them to do
hahahaha love this!
I agree. Kate talks about how the divorce is effecting ther kids and how they are asking questions. Jon has not mentioned the kids in the divorce; only himself…. What a loser
Since when is flipping out a crime? Anyone who has one or more kids should admit to this if you do not your a god damm lier!
Stop flipping out Robin, and learn how to spell.
I love the show and I’m going to be sad to see it end.I think Jon needs to grow up.He needs to remember that he still has 8 kids.Kate hang in there,your doing a great job
yeah Kate, you are doing a great job with full support of TLC and the paid nannies. Keep it up.
Jon has equal custody and has them half the time. They just aren’t often on camera when this happens. So in addition to the crew, the paid babysitter, the housekeeper, and, oh yeah, her yard workers, she also has a break from parenting whenever Jon has the kids. No wonder she’s doing a great job.
How is she strong? She’s doing exactly what her lawyer/s want her to do, play the role of an ‘overworked’ mother. I can sympathize with them both, I would never have put up with a shrill banshee woman like Kate, nor would I have put up with a pansy ass like Jon. They deserve each other, shame TLC destroyed their lives, and those poor kids lives.
Umm . . . TLC didn’t destroy their lives. They did a great job of that all by themselves. They both let their egos and money hunger take over their lives. That’s what people do when they’re in a bad relationship of their own creation — they focus on the wrong things fill that giant hole. They would be getting divorced with or without this show. She could only pretend that he wasn’t useless for so long and he could only pretend that she wasn’t a bitch on wheels for so long. Its a shame that it had to play out in front of the whole world like this, but let’s not pretend like TLC is to blame.
When “Kate fielded what she termed “the reasonable questions” sent in by viewers.” I knew then.
A lot of questions would remain unanswered. But instead of her ‘dodging’ the questions, TLC simply screened them all and kept them very light and superficial.
Obviously — pandering to the sheeple who think she is great. TLC engineers the show to mass audiences who think nothing of its ruining a relationship for ratings. Giving someone like Kate delusions that she’ll have a career 5 years from now — yeah right. If anything, those two numbskulls should be used as “evidence A” to create a law to protect the rights of minors in reality shows.
Oh I knew that would happen. Didn’t even bother watching. And I know that they showed her the questions in advance and advised her on how to word her thoughts.
The one that made me laugh was when she said she’d wait 8 hours to see Tiger Woods or Julia Roberts. She actually puts herself among that company? She is in an alternate reality, that’s all I can say.
The questions were very disappointing. She did not answer any questions that I particularly wanted answered. Who chose these questions anyway? I could have answered them for her because I knew what the answer would have been from the time the question was asked. Why is she afraid to answer the questions that people truly want to know. I don’t trust TLC so I am not surprised that TLC would have slanted the questions to make her look good. Is anyone ever going to ask that woman what she takes responsibility for and why she blames Jon for everything? Who cares about her hair and if she wears heels. How pathetic. My intelligence is insulted.
Read the Vanity Fair article, and you get the impression that TLC is doing massive amounts of PR to shape the divorce debacle in a way that will benefit them financially. Like when Kate talks about wanting to go to Nobu (in NYC) for sushi, and the TLC flack mentioning that it won’t play well. So instead, she goes to Toys R Us…
I think that TLC will likely stand to profit from Kate’s next venture, and so they will continue to play her up favorably until the cash cow goes for slaughter. Sorry, but it takes two to make a relationship work, and both Jon and Kate had no problem watching their marriage go down the drain.
I think, as usual, Kate was very poised and professional. Never dogged oh Jonny-boy. She is the master of the high road, IMO
When “taking the high road’ is for the sake of looking good on TV, it means nothing.
This woman should have been a nicer wife instead of driving off her huspband with her hateful ways.
Whit, I completely agree. Jon has made some pretty poor decisions lately, but he was definitely pushed out of that marriage by Kate and her terrible treatment of him.
Whit, I completely agree. Jon has made some mistakes lately, but he was definitely pushed out of that marriage by Kate’s poor treatment of him.
Did He forget the for better or worse part of the vows?
Poised and professional? Taking the high road? I’d say too little too late. . .imagine if she’d done this much earlier. . .
With a full time babysitter and someone who cleans the house for her… just what is it she does that makes her “over-worked, over-tired”?
Weren’t you listening: she is running the kids to after school activities and so as not to have to take them all with her she has a babysitter. As for having someone clean her house that is all they do. She didn’t say but they probably only come once a week to dust, sweep, and do the bathrooms. She still does the day to day stuff and I imagine that the laundry is a full time job in itself. You are obvioulsy a man who has no concept of what it takes to run a house and if you aren’t a man then you are a jealous woman. As for me I love Kate and think that Jon will wake up in a few years and Halley will be long gone and his kids will have found out what a jerk he is and he will end up a lonely old man with diamond earrings.
make that CZ earrings—as phony as Jon is. If you have ever watched their earlier shows & that clip before they married, Jon was the controlling one. He lost that control because of Kate’s popularity. That’s why he hated the TLC show and wants a show where he can be in control again. It had nothing to do w/the poor children…only about himself. He constantly bashes their Mother and lives a non-christian type life…what a sorry excuse for a man & father.
Jon lost control because he was outnumbered by Kate and TLC. The man is the king of his home. Strip away his rightful throne, and you strip his dignity and self worth. Every man needs to be respected. Every woman needs to be loved and protected by her man. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but the family is a “pack”. One must be the leader, and God chose man. Old fashioned or not, when the family adhered to the “pack rules”, there were far less divorce.
DeeDee, go back to the 50’s where you belong
There was less divorce because of the stigma that idiots like you put on it. My mother stayed in a horrible marriage because she was afraid to be ostracized by her family and community. Less divorce doesn’t equal more happiness. A man only only deserves respect if he EARNS it, not just because he happens to have a penis. Get your head out of the sand and STFU already.