Behind the Cameras: Jon & Kate Plus Eight Gets Nasty

Jon & Kate Plus Eight is my favorite television show on TLC. A quick recap of Jon & Kate Plus Eight is that they are the Gosselin family. The family consists of Jon & Kate, their two twins, Mady and Cara, and their two sets of sextuplets, Alexis, Aaden, Hannah, Joel, Collin, and Leah. Their lives have been far from average since the beginning. We were introduced to the family and their daily hectic schedule since they were born. The producers of the show started filming the family three times a week non-stop until now because of the break that Jon & Kate are taking. This innocent family that has been giving their kids a gift of organic and a nice life has made a lot of sacrifices and have also gotten a lot of gifts. Being on television does have its perks.

Jon & Kate Plus Eight has become a marketing fantasy for many business that want to give the suburban family gifts to help aid their financial troubles. They always stress that the kids need to stay in a healthy environment, but now it has gone out of hand. The episodes that have been airing lately has turned into a giant marketing scam. I'm sure it's with good intentions, but its turned into a prime time with brand marketing.

The show has gotten a little nasty. Underneath the children's smiles and family struggles there is a dirty truth of hatred, betrayal, and jealousy. There was a recent blog posted by Aunt Jodie's sister. The fun loving aunt that Kate & Jon had babysat their kids when they had to go away. The blog was written by Aunt Jodie and it was titled, "Truth Breeds Hate." I've been watching the show since the beginning and Aunt Jodie has always been there for Kate & Jon. Aunt Jodie would babsit the kids at anytime and she would go over board and help Kate & Jon. On top of taking care of Jon & Kate's kids she would also take care of her four young children. There was rumor that Kate got jealous of Aunt Jodie because people were saying that she took care of the kids with better maternal skills. Kate would have nothing of the sort. She refused to look bad on television and have her mothering skills bashed.

While this was occurring the producers offered Jodie and Kevin (Jodie's husband) money to be on the show because the kids were there so much. Kate stepped in and said, "no one's getting money for the show except for our family." They offered her a contract for Season 2 of Jon & Kate and she didn't want to go behind their backs and sign it, so she told the Gosselins and the after effects are seen in this quote from "Truth Breed Hatred," "Kate immediately accused Jodi and Kevin of being there for the money. This is what is so upsetting! Not the fact that she refused to allow them to be paid, but the things that she said to Kevin's face. Of course, it was hurtful, but the point is, Jodi knew that if she wanted to have a relationship with the children, she had to go along with Kate and still be useful. There was NO fight over money. Jodi accepted Kate's wishes and told Kate--herself--that she didn't care about the contract or money. She just wanted to continue what they had been doing all along. Kate said NO--she was hiring someone else. So at that point, Jodi knew she was out. Not just off the show, but out of their lives. That's the way it works. The network would now pay for someone else, so Jodi was no longer of any use to Kate. I know that sounds harsh and some want to believe there was some big family feud, but that isn't the case at all."

Aunt Jodie had a great personality, but we would never see her again on the show after she showed up so many times in the beginning. I don't think it was ever for the money because she took care of those kids since the start even when the cameras weren't there.

This cute Gosselins have turned into another family. They are shown as a struggling family with eight kids. They are a product of the entertainment industry. The mass marketing frenzy has turned into tummy tucks, hair implants, teeth whitening, Colorado vacations, free clothes, and a lot of other gifts. The family now owns a $1.5 million dollar mansion and they also own a vacation condo in Utah that was featured in the last season. The episode was when Jon and his little girl went skiing and Kate took the kids to see Sesame Street. The only thing I saw here was Jon escaping the claws of Kate, but things got rocky when the producers aired the previews to the finale.

Jon was accused of cheating on Kate and going wild when he wasn't around the kids. The bickering and love taps were cute in the beginning because they were happy and young. It seems like they are sick of each other and it's a chore, or a business transaction. They got tanner and Jon's head got fuller. They don't look they spend much time with each other anymore. I know that Kate does a lot of tours promoting the book.

When the finale aired it didn't seem like Jon wanted to deal with the show anymore because of all the media. He wants privacy and he can't stand that he will always be in the public eye. They need to fix their marriage and let the producers know that the show is about the kids and not them. I've been a die-hard fan from the beginning and I admit that the producers have shifted to the show from the kids to the Jon & Kate. Their attitudes did take a turn and I do think that they need a break.

Let me know what you think about the show! I would love to hear your comments! :)