A Disappointing End

I quit watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 a while back. I really liked the show, but Kate’s over-controlling, bossy, degrading whininess – most of which was directed at Jon – wore thin with me after a while. And this was even after cutting her a lot of slack because she has eight kids under age 9. (She reminded me too much of people I went to high school and college with and couldn’t stand.)

I had hoped that some of this persona was overdone for the camera because it created a little tension on the tooth-rottingingly sweet show. Apparently not.

I was flipping channels last night while starting my evening project: assembling a small, three-level shelf for the paint room downstairs. A shelf that had scads of nuts and bolts just to connect 10 parts! So there I was, on the livingroom floor, all the shelf pieces spread out in front of me, when I saw the TV listing … and remembered that this was the “big announcement” night for the show.

I felt guilty for tuning in – even after it was nearly half over – because I anticipated the trainwreck I’d witness. I figured they’d announce their separation – and they did.

But then, there was that little message that popped up on screen in the show’s final 10 minutes saying that yesterday, the Gosselins had in fact “sought dissolution of their 10-year marriage.” A divorce! Geez.

I feel sorry for both of them. Going through a break-up is rarely easy. Doing it with everyone in America watching is even harder. And then, having to endure while 8 tiny pairs of eyes watch it happening is just more than I can fathom.

Nor can I fathom how there’s a show after this. Kate + Eight – Jon + a bodyguard? Jon Plus Eight – Kate + Jon’s new girlfriend? Nah. It’s now lost its appeal for me. Because no matter how you do the math, the equation is going to equal eight mixed-up little kids.

That ceases to be entertainment for me.