Jon and Kate Plus 8 - Headed for Divorce?

The new season of Jon and Kate plus 8 premiered on TLC with a record nearly 10 million viewers. Season 5 has begun with expected but disappointing news. Jon and Kate Gosselin, famed parents of twins and sextuplets, spent much of the over one-hour long episode being interviewed separately which is a break from previous format.

During their one on one conversations with the camera, both parents expressed disappointment in the state of their marriage and family. For his part, Jon apologized for his actions but what he was apologizing for was unclear as he denied having an affair.

Kate on the other hand has often portrayed herself as a supermom, doing everything alone. This concept has been disputed by former Gosselin employees including an interview with a former nurse on CBS's The Early Show.

Kate has also denied that she has had an affair with their security guard but it has also been reported that several months ago, Kate offered Jon a deal that they would be together on the show but that they would live separate lives.

Kate's brother and sister-in-law (Kevin and Jodi Kreider) have appeared in several magazine and television interviews including the The Early Show on CBS. The brother and his wife have shared supposedly inside information stating that the show is not reality and that it is basically like looking at a train wreck.

Kevin and Jodi also professed a great deal of concern for the couple's 8 children, claiming that the kids say they don't want the cameras around anymore. However the frequency of the Kreider's appearances in the media may lead one to believe that they are experiencing sour grapes as they were kicked off the show during Season 3. It looks a little like they want some of the spotlight the "train wreck" is bringing to the family.

In any case, the drama will apparently not end any time soon. Kate will keep going to the beautyshop, the gym and personal appearances while acting like the much put upon supermom while on camera, Jon will continue to act sullen and trodden upon and the unseen nannies will continue to take care of the kids out of view of the camera.

The couple may be headed to counseling or even divorce but TLC will be banking on keeping the viewership going and the family will probably be in a position to negotiate a higher per episode fee - which they might very well need if they divorce.

Sources:

TLC, Jon and Kate Plus 8

CBS News,The Early Show