“Jon & Kate Plus 8″ Plus Divorce Papers

So, Jon and Kate’s “big announcement” has been the talk of town for days. And while many people ask “Who the hell are these freaks and why do I care?” all I can say is, “THEY ARE JON AND KATE GOSSELIN, DUH! They have the cutest kids ever and I’ve been watching them since they were BORN!!!”

Ok, so maybe I’m a little invested, but I was there for their first dentist appointment that’s what happens when you watch a show for so long and feel like you get to know a family. That is why people care. We’ve been watching the Gosselin children grow since they were born, so we’ve been dreading the announcement and news of what was going to happen to this once seemingly perfect family

As I settled in to watch and heard of the couple’s decision to separate (and Kate claiming that it had “nothing to do with the show”…yeah right), I felt a sudden drop in my stomach. Although I had already been anticipating this news for weeks, hearing it straight from Jon and Kate suddenly made it very real. In many ways, this unfortunate decision seemed inevitable. Any regular viewer of the show could see the tension brewing between the couple for quite some time, but that didn’t make it any easier. Nor did it stop the tears that welled up in my eyes. I know, I’m embarassed.

I had to turn to a Butterfinger bar to make myself feel better.

It’s just hard to watch a relationship fail, regardless of who it is. And feeling so connected to those kids makes it so much worse. What is going to happen to them? How are they going to take the news? And, if having cameras in their faces/paparazzi stalking them/a mom with porcupine hair wasn’t enough, will this totally eff them up in the future?

In the end, Jon and Kate made it very clear that they made this heart-wrenching decision in order to preserve peace for their children. In fact, “doing it for the children” was a theme frequently articulated by both parents (so much so that if I had played a Jon and Kate Big Announcement drinking game and took a shot every time that phrase was mentioned, I wouldn’t be here right now to tell the tale). It was almost as if each of them had to prove to America that they loved their kids as much as the other, which was really just sad.

This divorce isn’t going to be pretty – not when the tabloids are involved – but as long as Jon and Kate continue to put their childrens’ needs at the center of their relationship, I know that this family will not only survive, but thrive. Although this situation is definitely not ideal or uplifting (who the hell is ever going to want to marry someone with 8 kids!?), it is a true representation of a family dealing with the stresses and pressures of living life in the public eye. When all is said and done, this reality show brood is keeping it real.

Don’t worry; as long as Kate keeps rockin’ that spikey mullet look, all is not lost for the Gosselin gang.