OlderThe Gosselins Have Good Housekeeping
The Gosselin family, the stars of their own TLC reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8, take the November 2008 cover of Good Housekeeping, out Oct. 14.
Their show on TLC revolves around their eight children—fraternal twin girls and sextuplets (three girls and three boys). Pictured L to R, T to B: Leah, Kate, Jon, Hannah, Joel, Mady (twin), Kara (twin), Collin, Alexis and Aaden.
TV viewers enjoyed the fun and chaotic Good Housekeeping cover photo shoot during last night’s (Monday, October 6) episode of J&K+8. The article in Good Housekeeping also features an exclusive excerpt from The Gosselins’ new book, “Multiple Blessings” (cover picture below).
Click inside for quotes from Jon & Kate’s interview…
During the First Months with Eight Children
KATE: “There were days I just wanted to cover my head with a pillow. But I knew my babies were counting on me, and I had to keep it together. I had to keep it together for Jon, who was falling apart – he’d been laid off when I was pregnant and was applying for every job under the sun.”
The Strain on their Marriage
KATE: “But our marriage is going to go through many more years of fine-tuning. Right now it’s taking a beating, because we have a house full of children. People see us arguing, and they say ‘When will Kate and Jon split up?’ Well, never. He’s the only one who’s been by my side through all of this.”
Life Will Never Be Normal Again
KATE: “People come here and say, ‘I feel like I’m watching your show.’ That’s because this is our show. We will never feel normal again, TV show or not. Does anyone see a family with twins and sextuplets every day? No. It took me until the little kids were almost two to completely accept it.”
Parenting Eight Kids
KATE: “I’m trying to focus on the enjoyable moments, rather than keeping them clean every minute. You have to realize you’re setting the rules for life. With six, we have no room for error.”
KATE: “It’s hard to turn my brain off at night. When I choose Leah to take to the grocery store, and I don’t know when I can tell the rest of them when their chances will be, that’s guilt.”
KATE: “Mady will come in and close the toilet lid and sit there and talk to me while I’m in the shower. I like to hear what they have to say. For me, that’s more like normal parenting.”
When They’re All Grown Up
JON: “I suddenly realized that I’m going to have five son-in-laws.”
KATE: “I have very vivid dreams of our family in the future – a house full of love, laughter, and lots of grandkids to spoil. I’m already worried about that empty-nest syndrome. Just as they came in a big group and overwhelmed us, they will likely leave in a big group, and the quiet will be even more deafening.”
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141 Comments
When a couple has IVF the chances of multiple births or litters(not normally what would happen if not for man’s help-God didn”t mean for women to have 6 kids at once~) are pretty common. I’m sure Jon and Kate knew this especially after having twins the 1st pregnancy. They wanted this and they should have to pay themselves for their children. They don’t just make it-they live very good lives because of them explioting their children. Shame on them and shame on us who watch them which I will now anymore!!!! Always thought Kate was a Bit*ch and she certainly is
Stand,get and not, corrections-sorry
I love the show and watch it every Monday night, even record it if necessary. I think the idea of having a reality show is really smart. It provides enjoyment for viewers as well as memories for the family. They will have tons of video’s and pictures that would otherwise be very hard to accomplish on their own. The kids are adorable and Jon and Kate are great parents who only want the best for their family, inspite of what others say. Sometimes people are just jeolous of other’s accomplishments and success. The fact that they as a family get to travel to fun and educational places is wonderful. Who wouldn’t want to expose their kids to such adventures. I traveled as a kid with my family and I treasure every trip. I love Kate’s hair style. I’ve finally got the “do” going on myself. God has blessed this family and they know it and do not mind sharing their experiences. They are bringing up their children in church and teaching them what is really important in life. I am a “MiMi” of 6 beautiful granddaughters which includes a set of twins. They are such a blessing but I can’t imagine taking care of all of them at one time all the time. Jon and Kate have their hands full. Thank you for a great show. Keep it up and God Bless.
These kids make me want to get my tubes tied. All they do is scream, cry and whine. I can’t watch it anymore because by the end of the show I’m a nervous wreck!
To the writer of this article- I loved it, except for one thing. Cara, the twin, is spelt Cara, with a C. I hope this will improve the correctness of this article, awesome job, by the way. I love this family, I watch their show everyday, I need my “Jon and Kate” fix to make me happy, lol. I hate the way people criticize them though. Even though they are doing a TV show, they even said they are going to stop when someone doesn’t feel comfortable anymore, so it’s all very voluntary, for those of you who didn’t know.
-Ali
Dear Ali,
When can 4 year olds make definitive decisions about their life. They should have parents who make those decisions for them. In case you didn’t know.
Children should be protected not exploited for goods and services. Look up the word “barter” and see if that word is verb that describes this “exchange”.
Gail,
You said “It provides enjoyment for viewers” .
How would you like the lives of your grandchildren to be enjoyment for strangers. That is voyeuristic and strange.
gosselinswithoutpity.blogspot.com
we love this family, Jon and Kate do a fab job of raising there kiddies!
so what they get alot of help now but i think they deserve everything they get, they do an awesome job. im down here in oz and i watch there show religiously lol
I purchase a copy of Good Housekeeping every month. NO more. The Good Housekeeping staff really messed up with this.
Where in the article does it state how unhappy the kids appear to be? How unhealthy that marriage appears? How overworked those little kids are?
There are labor laws in this country and sadly, they don’t apply to “reality” TV Shows. This group of kids are showing some serious signs of depression and anxiety, all because neither of the parents want to obtain a full time job outside of the entertainment industry.
Do some research on this family. You’ll be shocked at what you find out.
Someone needs to protect those kids. Good Housekeeping - you and the sponsors of that show let me down.
I just saw the GH Nov. edition and they are not in the cover, what happened??
I don´t like this family, they are all over the money,
I can’t believe how negative so many people are. OMG… these children live with loving parents… they eat breakfast together, they eat dinner together…
they have camera’s around when they play and when they go places — not exactly what I’d call WORK… a trip to Chocolate World, a ride on Thomas the Train, skiing in Utah… or seeing Mickey Mouse in Disney World!!! They are NOT forced to study lines… or to “act”. They are merely observed being themselves. They go to school (their neighborhood school) and have birthday parties. Anyone who equates this to Child Labor… give me a break!!
Is there a price to be paid for being in the public eye? Absolutely. Are there lives “edited” for entertainment value? Absolutely.
I would be willing to bet that almost every one of you naysayers… put in the same position (needing to clothe and feed 8 children) would jump at the opportunity TLC has given them. Family business? What’s wrong with that? Ask any farmer whose 8 year olds gather eggs or slop the pigs (they do still do that in 2008!) or the restauranteur whose children hang out in the restaurant every day after school (maybe not helping… but “stuck” at the restaurant.
Are there sacrifices this family is making by making the choice to have TLC (and all of us) in their lives? Yes… sure are! But as parents we have the right to make the decisions on how are children are raised. These children are NOT abused. Yes, their privacy is compromised (and as the children age — I hope TLC recognizes their need for privacy).
As for the Good Housekeeping photo shoot… We did a picture with 8 children once (under 10 years old… all my mom’s grandchildren). Our experience was IDENTICAL to the Gosselins. It wasn’t punitive … it was just the way it was. Kids are impatient. Kids have short attention spands. Get over it.
Those of you with 2 or 3 or even 4 children don’t have clue. You can afford to be high and mighty with your attacks — but they only show your ignorance (lack of information/understanding). If we put you in their position you wouldn’t last 24 hours.
No, they didn’t plan for 6… they planned for 1 or 2 (which is the NORM for IVF)… and when it turned out that 6 took… they refused to abort. Maybe you would have made a different choice there, too. More power to them for choosing LIFE for their children.
For those of you who continue to cry Exploitation… but continue to watch the show…. I can only say how hypocritical of you. They had an unexpected turn in their lives… and have chosen a way of supporting them that allows them to be well fed, well clothed, well LOVED by family, friends and the production staff, too. I must be honest and say that… were I to have found myself in the same situation… I probably would have done the same thing.
Those of you that are Gosselin haters… please take your rants elsewhere — because when the children are old enough to surf the web… and they find your hate messages… those are the messages that will destroy them. The psychological damage they will experience reading the horrid things you are saying will have a PROFOUND effect on the children.
It will not be the result of the production crew in their home a few days each month… So if you truly care for the children… you will stop. If you continue… you will merely be putting a voice to your selfish jealousy.
I think kate needs to know that whatever attention she gets is what she asked for. You can’t deny people their fasination and then take all the freebies happily. Kate is getting worse…she’s soo happy on the talk shows, mean to the public when they approach her, and yet wants to have her show?
If Kate wants a normal life, she shouldn’t be promoting her show/life as much as she is. Why does she want us to watch her show if she doesn’t want us to feel that connection with her family. If I saw the kids in public, I would want to approach them too. Kate wants the $$$$ and freebies, but still wants her privacy. She can’t have both!!! Jon deserves a medal for putting up with all of Kate’s mean obnoxious comments. It’s no wonder Kate’s parents want nothing to do with her family and are not a part of their lives…how sad! Kate probably told them off one day and still can’t forgive her.
Leave the family alone and worry about your own lives. Nobody can say that if they had this opportunity they would pass it up. Guaranteed!
Hmmm these people make “real” parents feel inadequate. After all they cook clean and care for their brood without any help at all and make it look SO easy………..NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good grief. They have a personal organic chef, Kate has a personal assistant, they have Jenny the Nanny and a fulltime housekeeper that comes in daily.
Sham, Scam, Exploiting their children for money and shame on TLC and Good Housekeeping for keeping up the facade. Someone investigate this trainwreck before these kids end up on drugs at age 12!!!!!!!! But I guess that would make a good episode for TLC too huh?
Enough all ready. Move on people, their 15 minutes of fame is up. They are not the only ones who have 8 kids. At least the other families have a parent that works. Jon stays home all day and does whatever Kate tells him.
They are LIARS!! Jon and Kate want you to believe the lies.
All the kids have college funds set up by the common wealth of PA.
Jon and Kate get monthly free brand new clothing from Gap, Banana Republic and Gymborie for themselves and all the kids.
Jon and Kate have an organich chef that comes in and cooks all the dinners for them.
kate has two personal assistants hired by TLC to run her errands for her.
They want for nothing, in the words of kate “The show is our life and the life is our show” The go to church’s and now only mega churches, expect them to pick up the bill and offer them lots of freebies and if it’s not enough, they cancell. They tell everyone they are soo poor and don’t have enough money for Christmas presents for all to stretch and so on and so forth but they do..they make nearly 80K at last count per episode and already over 70 episodes have been shot. YOU Do the math!! This poor us, we are struggeling to make ends meat i a lie. They live better than just about anyone, want for nothing and take church love offerings as petty cash??!!
You are LIARS!!
funny that kate doesn’t mention that piece in her hometown paper where her and jon were taken to court by the state back when the babies were first born. She admitted she had healthy babies but that because she had 6 of them, she was entitled..key word again..entitled for the state to continue to pay for her free home nurse service thru medicaid?? She admitted the kids were healthy but she’s entitled to it because she has 6 kids??!! And then, she called and demanded that she be allowed to proof read what was wrote. When the editer refused, she said she was retracting everything she said, THOUGH she admitts it was all true??
We have family in Reading and they spot Kate at the Gymborie and Gap kids there all the time. Not BUYING anything but checking off her list of free clothes that she gets from them monthly. She walks out with 6 yo 8 bags loaded at a time. Not just for the kids, but also for her and Jon. That shopping spree to banana republic and gap was so fake. Her and jon get free clothes from them as well. A few months back, my sister in law was at the gymberie there and thought it was kate in front of her. She was mad because some clothes she wanted wasn’t ready for her to pick up so she waited while the girl got it from the back. She asked the sales lady if it was her and she said yes but not to talk to her because the last person that was in that that did..kate flipped out and said she couldn’t stand all the fame??!
Please, it is soo one thing to be blessed and God pour down blessings and you giving him all the glory for it. It’s another to lie to people and lie on national TV and paint this picture to get sympothy and all this attention so you can keep all the money you’re making and keep getting freebies on the side and have everyone else pay for your kids. But then again she started that from the beginning because she’s “Entitled??”
would I pass up the oppertunity for freebies or a show..probably not? Would I sit there and tell a blatent LIE knowing I had millions in my bank account, make 80k per episode, get free clothing every month, have a chef, and two personal assistants and go to church’s begging for money and always commenting on HOW HARD it is to cook and say I do all the cooking and cleaning and all this crap..NO!! That is LYING!!!
To Kathryn,
I “cry” exploitation and no I do not watch the show, although up till May I was an avid fan. ONCE AGAIN. I realized how creepy this is and vouyeristic watching little children work for their parents. What do find most enjoyable Kathryn. You act like what you see on tv is there real life. I can almost bet you don’t work, watch Maury and Jerry Springer and eat your feelings. I find it hard to believe that anyone with the intellegence of a knat and any empathy would find watching 8 kids provide for them and their parents. Get out of your lounger and moo moo and go feed your own kids and turn the tv off. You guys who defend this need help yourself.
I, for one, am a big fan of the show. I may not know everything about them, but I am appalled that so many posters would write such awful things about this family. Put yourself in their shoes and look at it from their point of view. How would your family like being on tv and then, having people post bad things about you and your family just because they assume it’s “exploitation”? If that wouldn’t bother you, you really have a problem. I agree with Kathryn’s comment and those that stick up for Jon & Kate Plus 8. And, those that disagree with us, I don’t care what you call me. I stand by my comment, regardless, and nothing will change my mind. So, there!
Wow, what is wrong with all you people ? There are more important things going on in our country than the Kate bashers, if you hate this woman so bad why do you waste precious time commenting about her? Geez don’t you have some thing better to do?
I mean they are good people if you like em’ or not, and to call those little kids ugly and little B$$$$$$ and ect, is right now dis-gusting, and nomoregoodhousekeeping it looks like you should grow up and find out that life is’nt about you, it does not revolve around you, Kate Gosselin has more common sence than most of you who try to bash her, and guess what? she could’nt care less. Just remember while all you nay-sayers are just sitting around gossiping about some one you don’t know, the ratings go up, and the bank roll is getting bigger, and the Gosselins are laughing all the way to the bank, No thats not right, they have some one to do their banking for them, LOL
There are 2 covers for the November 2008 Good Housekeeping issue…Gosselins are only on 1 due to complaints against them. I cannot find the issue with them on the cover and I was looking forward to getting that issue :( Boo on Good Housekeeping!!!
Cara spells her name with a C not a K! That bothers me. I would be mad if someone messed up my name in a big magazine article like that. Too bad they can’t make corrections once it’s printed. Poor Cara! :(
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