14 DAY TRIAL // This summer, Kate Gosselin and her 8 children with ex-husband Jon Gosselin are making their big comeback to television with a TLC special that should help fans catch up with them after a very long hiatus. While Kate is understandably thrilled, Jon says he feels “heartbroken” and “outraged.”
Since their much mediated divorce in 2009, Jon and Kate have never seen eye on eye on how much exposure their kids should get. In fact, this is why Jon was cut from the family’s reality show, which went from Jon and Kate Plus 8 to Kate Plus 8 when he started raising questions with TLC about whether their children weren’t exploited.
Things have only gotten worse since then, with the two former spouses engaged in a constant war of words in the media. It’s almost as if these two can’t find it in themselves to sit down and discuss their differences so, instead, they just come out with the most harmful statements about each other.
As such, it was not surprising to hear last week that Kate had agreed to do the TLC summer special with the kids before even asking Jon how he felt about it. She has primary custody and, insiders say, she’s not legally bound to consult with Jon before making this kind of decision but, from his latest statement, it sure looks like he was expecting at least a phone call to inform him, if not to ask for his permission.
“[Kate] didn’t feel the situation warranted even a simple phone call to me,” Jon says, as cited by Radar Online.
“I was heartbroken to learn my children are participating in yet another TV project, especially an ‘update’ special. Even without a current television show, they still live a very public life. They’re still constantly in and out of the media; updates are given practically daily via social media,” he continues.
He’s said before that he believes that so much exposure at such an early age has been detrimental to the eight children, of whom he says they’re developmentally impaired. He is clearly of the same opinion today, thinking it would be much better for them if they were just allowed a normal childhood.
Instead, Kate continues to use them to make money, shoving them in the spotlight even when she sees for herself that it’s not doing them any good. Because of that, Jon says, he hopes no one will tune in to see the special this summer.
Kate, on the other hand, is probably hoping the opposite happens, that ratings will be so impressive that she might be offered a new reality show.