Last night marked the return of Kate Gosselin and her uber-famous brood of kids to TV in Kate Plus 8 where Kate takes her kids to Australia. Now first of all let’s just remind you all that I am firmly on Team Kate. I always have been, and I always will be (well, except for that one time when her and Jon were being just ridiculous!) I mean after writing this Jon blocked me on Twitter! I understand all of the criticisms of Kate and her behaviour over the years, but I also can relate to her. I only have half the amount of kids that Kate has and I know how stressful life can be with a house full of little people who are constantly demanding your time and attention. You kind of lose a bit of yourself when you’re constantly taking care of other people. So let’s just say I can relate and understand her. I also think she just needs a really good girl friend – because every woman needs a really good girl friend. I think I could be Kate Gosselin’s girl friend.
I had a strange sort of fascination with watching the show last night mostly because I wanted to see how she would act – would she try to be a ‘kinder, gentler’ Kate to please the masses who have criticized her so much? The answer is no, and kinda. The one thing I have always appreciated about Kate Gosselin is that she always seemed very genuine to me. Was she a bitch to her husband sometimes – sure. Was she a strict, exhausted mother sometimes – sure. Find me a real mother who isn’t like that. I would rather see a frantic, frazzled mother of 8 on my TV screen than a perpetually calm and happy Michelle Duggar who has 19 kids and seems to never raise her voice. At least I can look at Kate and know that she’s really being herself on screen and not putting on a show for the camera.
This latest episode showed Kate travelling to Australia with her kids so they could experience the land Down Under. It showed her calling Jon to report that they all made it there safely, and each of the kids had a turn talking to him. And when she spoke to him they sounded to be at least a little bit amicable, and whether that was for the cameras or not, who knows? But at least it looks like they’re both trying to stop acting like kids themselves and understand that they have eight children to co-parent. Of course there were the typical Kate moments when one of the kids would melt down and she would send them off to the bus or away from her – but I gotta tell you, that’s exactly what I would do if my kids were behaving in the same way. After just coming back from a vacation where we had to fly and change planes and keep the kids entertained for only 5 hours – I can’t even fathom how she would tackle a 13 hour trip by herself. I understand that she has helpers but she’s still the Mom, she’s still the one that the kids want when they are melting down.
I have to admit it was nice to see the kids back on TV. I have watched the Gosselin kids since they were babies and I think we all felt sorry for them in the last year or so as we watched their parent’s relationship disintegrate for all the world to see. We sympathized with them as we watched their father act like a frat boy and we felt worse as we watched their parents engage in a very public war of words over who the worst parent was. But this latest show made me think that at least Jon and Kate have realized that really, it’s the kids that are the most important in the entire situation. And let’s face it, 8 kids are expensive and Jon’s job installing roofing panels just isn’t going to keep food on their table, so whether he likes it or not, those kids will be on TV as long as there’s an audience to watch them.
I enjoyed Kate Plus 8 last night, and I think I’ll be tuning in next week to watch again. It’s been a while since we heard from any of the Gosselin’s and as long as they can keep their personal drama quiet I’ll enjoy the show. So, did you watch? Oh, and if you want to follow Kate on Twitter, you can @KatePlusMy8! Here’s hoping she doesn’t block me!
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