My 2 Cents

So, let me start by saying that I am not a regular viewer of the show- I have only seen tidbits and snippets of the show, but it is really hard NOT to be aware of the Jon & Kate + 8 saga...

Hearing all the rumors that there was a "major announcement" being made in last night's episode--and knowing all the celebrity rags were reporting that the "news" was a separation and divorce--I tuned in.

Honestly, the announcement I wanted to hear was that they were quitting the show, getting some family and couples counseling and going to work on the relationship in real life, not on reality t.v. I was holding out hope that they fed the Insider, Entertainment Tonight and Radar.com with some phony info. to throw them off the scent. They didn't. They announced their separation as expected and of course as Kate said, "The show MUST go on". Yea, because as if the kids don't have it hard enough, now they have to have the breakup of their parents' marriage and the fallout from that immortalized on t.v. and for sale on DVD...

Now, even if they had done what I hoped, their path may still have led to separation and divorce, but at least it would have spared the kids the very public spectacle of this very private issue, and at least Jon & Kate could have both slept well at night knowing they had done their absolute best for their family: that they had exhausted all possibilities, that they fought hard for each other AND their kids and that they did it the right way--privately.

Jon and Kate are famous only for being parents to a lot of kids. They weren't actors, singers or entertainers before this t.v. show. They were just a bunch of high school sweethearts who got married and wanted a family. They are not like Brad and Angelina. Their celebrity is like that of Paris Hilton (famous for her name only) or Kim Kardashian (famous for having a big ass and a sex tape*)

If they chose to go back to a normal, non-televised life, eventually the Paparazzi and their fans would lose interest. After all they are just parents raising their kids-just like all of us parents, whether we have 1 kid or 18.

In truth, I really hope TLC cancels the show.

*Credit: Joel McHale and "The Soup" for the apt description of Ms. Kardashian.