Jon & Kate Plus 8 quickly became a television phenomenon after making its debut on TLC in
2007, but what viewers saw on TV was far from the whole story. Here are some things you
don't know about the hit show that catapulted Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight children
to fame.
In 2004, Jon and Kate were a typical married couple with young twins, Mady and Cara, with
a hope of having a third child. When Kate was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome,
she underwent fertility treatments, which worked extremely well. Instead of becoming
pregnant with one baby, she became pregnant with six. The arrival of the couple's sextuplets
quickly captured national media attention. Jon told CBS's The Early Show after the sextuplets'
birth,
"Each baby had, I believe, a doctor and three nurses. I took a head count in the room and
there were 27 people. But outside of the room, there was the rest. There was a second room
with three baby-like cradles for each of the babies, a, b, and c. Then d, e, and f were
in the operating room."
News coverage led the Gosselins to be featured on Home Delivery, followed by two specials
on the Discovery Health Channel before TLC came calling with an offer to create a reality
show around the Gosselins' day-to-day lives. And thus, Jon & Kate Plus 8 was born.
"We're a family. We're in this together."
In a 2008 episode of their show, Kate explained that the story of the Gosselins began on "a
sunny, warm day in October 1997." Jon was working at a hotel and living with his mother,
while Kate had recently graduated from nursing school. Kate accompanied a friend who worked
at the same hotel to a company picnic. She explained,
"There was this guy walking across the grass, and I wasn't really looking for anybody cause
I was very self-sufficient, but he caught my attention. I was like, 'I'm not leaving
here until I meet him.' I declared that."
That guy, of course, was Jon, who admitted he had a girlfriend at the time when he first
laid eyes on Kate at that fateful picnic. Kate quipped that the girlfriend was "gone
the next day," revealing she and Jon immediately started dating and quickly fell in love. She
added,
"We were the couple that people always said were sickeningly sweet. Can you believe that?"
Fame wasn't something that the Gosselins contemplated before the runaway success of Jon & Kate Plus
8, especially when that celebrity stemmed from showcasing their real lives, warts and
all, as entertainment for TV viewers.
"The stress of having two sets of multiples doesn't always bring out the best in us."
In 2008 Kate told The Washington Post,
"I'm not always proud of what you see on the show, nor is Jon...Producers are certainly
not going to hide our imperfections."
One executive producer on the show explained,
"They don't yell and scream at each other, but many people appreciate it because it's
so real. And it's a testament to Jon and Kate that they allow us to shoot all of it."
Viewers found the couple to be all too relatable, with Kate coming across as a control freak,
while Jon appeared to be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of raising eight youngsters.
He even admitted he was glad he didn't have to be home with them all day.
Living their lives in front of cameras is something they gradually accepted, but Kate
insisted nothing in the show was rehearsed or scripted. She claimed she "wouldn't have
the time" to memorize a script.
In April 2009, not long after renewing their vows on their show, Kate was out of town doing
promotion for her first book, Eight Little Faces, when Jon was photographed by paparazzi
exiting a bar at 2 a.m. with the family nanny, as People magazine reported. Their nanny's
brother told tabloids that she and Jon had been having an affair for months. Jon denied
those claims, but did admit to "poor decisions and bad judgments," apologizing for, quote,
"putting his family in this awkward position."
Two months later, Kate filed for divorce, issuing a statement claiming,
"Jon's activities have left me no choice but to file legal procedures in order to protect
myself and our children."
"We can't be cordial, and we decided to separate."
"I'm not very fond of the idea, personally."
This left the show and its stars in a difficult spot, especially given that Jon & Kate Plus
8 was so popular that filming the show had become a full-time gig for the Gosselins.
At the time, Kate said,
"We don't have a backup plan anymore. We're caught, because this is our job."
As the couple's increasingly nasty split played out in the tabloids, fascination with Jon
& Kate Plus 8 only grew. Yet for fans of the show, the marital bickering that once seemed
funny and entertaining appeared to be, in hindsight, the sad evidence of a crumbling
marriage.
"I'm embarrassed because of the way you yelled at me in there, like I'm a frickin' dog."
In a 2009 People interview, shortly before she filed divorce papers, Kate admitted she
was having trouble accepting husband Jon's claim that he didn't cheat on her. She said,
"I don't think I know if I believe him. I don't think that I know the whole truth, and
to be very honest, I don't know that I ever will."
A few months later, Jon appeared in a highly publicized ABC News interview and dashed any
hopes of a reconciliation, saying,
"Our relationship will never be fixed. I don't trust her anymore. I was abused...I was beaten
down...She made the first move. She knows the truth."
"I just did kids my whole twenties. Our marriage fell apart and I felt like I was free."
The implosion of the Gosselins' marriage may have left their personal lives in shambles,
but it brought the show some monster ratings. The 2009 episode focusing on their divorce
became the show's highest-rated episode ever, with the Los Angeles Times reporting it was
seen by a staggering 10.6 million viewers. The publication joked at the time,
"Breaking up may be hard to do, but it sure helps reel in viewers."
Six months later, the pair had officially uncoupled. In a statement to People in December
2009, Kate said,
"I am very relieved that our divorce has been finalized, and I look forward to the New Year,
focusing on the children...This has been a challenging transition for all of us, but
I am confident that we will move ahead with the important task of restructuring our lives."
The show must go on, and in September 2009, TLC announced Jon & Kate Plus 8 would morph
into Kate Plus 8, shifting the focus to Kate's new role as a single mom raising eight kids
under the glare of the media spotlight. Jon would be downgraded from series regular to
recurring guest star. In a statement to TV Guide, the president of TLC said,
"Given the recent changes in the family dynamics, it only makes sense for us to refresh and
recalibrate the program to keep pace with the family. The family has evolved and we
are attempting to evolve with it; we feel that Kate's journey really resonates with
our viewers."
A press release at the time declared,
"The program will continue to capture the incredible lives of the eight Gosselin children
and their family, but will now include a deeper focus on Kate's role in the family and her
journey as a single mother building the next chapter in her life."
While Jon was making the media rounds and telling his side of the story, he probably
should have taken a closer look at his deal with TLC. As CNN reported in 2009, the network
sued him for breach of contract. TLC's suit alleged that Jon had agreed to provide, quote,
"his and his family's services in taping and promoting the program in and around the family
home and to provide those services exclusively" to TLC. TV appearances on other networks violated
his contract, according to TLC.
Jon lawyered up and fought back. His attorney blasted TLC's claims as "weak, feeble and
baseless," adding,
"Apparently, TLC has elected to initially litigate this case in the court of public
opinion...because neither Jon nor I have been served with legal pleadings or informed by
TLC of the instant litigation...Discovery and TLC has treated Jon like a dog by attempting
to keep him on a leash and muzzle him and deny the father of eight the opportunity to
earn a livelihood to support his family."
TLC's lawsuit against Jon led him to file a countersuit, issuing a cease-and-desist
order that halted production of Kate Plus 8 until the legal dust settled. This delayed
the premiere until the legalities could get worked out. Eventually, the suit was settled,
according to CBS News, and TLC could finally move forward with the family's "best interests."
When Kate Plus 8 finally premiered, ratings were a fraction of what they once were. Even
worse, it simply wasn't the same show. Entertainment Weekly called the show "grim stuff," noting,
"Everything is tinged with weary familiarity and bitterness."
In August 2011, TLC announced Kate Plus 8 was canceled. The network said in a statement
that they, quote, "[hoped] to check in with Kate and the family periodically with specials
in the future."
If there's one word to describe Kate, it's resilient. In 2014, TLC announced that she'd
be returning to the network that made her a star, for one night only, in a one-hour
special to catch fans up on what had taken place in her life since the show went off
the air.
Ratings for the special were strong enough to warrant more specials over the years, and
in late 2015, it was made official: Kate Plus 8 was returning, with eight new episodes airing
during December 2015 and January 2016.
The revived Kate Plus 8 never came close to recapturing the ratings of Jon & Kate Plus
8 at its peak, and TLC finally pulled the plug in 2017, according to the Daily Beast.
Still, that was not the last that viewers would see of Kate, who re-emerged in 2019
with a whole new version of the show, called Kate Plus Date, which added a Bachelorette-style
twist that sent her out on dates with an array of mystery men seeking to hook up with the
single mother of eight.
Kate Plus Date hit the air, but it didn't exactly set the world on fire, the premiere
attracted less than 800,000 viewers. But TLC was not done with Kate yet, and, in October
2019, the network revived Kate Plus 8 with a special 2019 episode that focused on the
Gosselin twins heading off to college.
But there was one little problem, Jon and Kate were in the midst of a nasty custody
battle, with some kids living with her and some with Jon. According to the Daily Mail,
Jon claimed that filming that episode violated a 2018 court order prohibiting any of the
sextuplets from being filmed for reality television. He explained,
"I'm furious. Absolutely furious. They didn't care. It's really upsetting that big business
and big corporations go do whatever they want, against a parent's legal right. They put profits
and ratings ahead of the well-being of my children and filmed illegally without work
permits."
When TLC settled its legal battle with Jon in 2009, that settlement apparently included
a ten-year gag order prohibiting him from commenting on TLC, his ex, and her reality
TV exploits. In November 2019, however, that gag order was lifted, and Jon had a lot to
say. On Dr. Oz, Jon spoke about Kate, saying,
"I believe that her belief system is skewed...I think once fame and money got involved, it
twisted her belief system. On my end, I've been fighting to get my kids off TV forever.
All she wanted was legal custody to film my kids to sustain her lifestyle and their lifestyle.
It gets all warped. That's fame though. It just twists things around."
"She didn't want to be married anymore."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want to film anymore."
Jon went on to allege that Kate has a "narcissistic personality disorder." Kate responded in a
statement to People, saying,
"I have consistently made it a rule never to respond to Jon's delusional ramblings,
and I will not break that rule now. However, at some point soon, I look forward to making
sure the absolute truth about our family is known."
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