Jon and Kate Plus 8 Plus Celebrity Equals Disaster

Reality celebrities Jon and Kate Gosselin are in the midst of a scandal that threatens to destroy their mini-family empire. It all started with pictures of Jon's late-night partying at a local Pennsylvania night-club. Who was the mystery woman who left the club with Jon at 2 a.m.?

Then there was the sneaky video of Jon leaving 23 year old school teacher Deanna Hummel's home at day-break. The proverbial doo-doo hit the fan when Deanna's roommate, no less than her 29 year old brother Jason, released damaging information to the tabloids about Jon and Deanna's loud sexual romping. Jason did not approve. Deanna denied the affair and shot back with allegations of Jason's former drug-dealing and general lack of character. Her brother ratted her out! To make matters worse, Deanna's ex-boyfrield is shopping around for takers on an old sex-tape of them together. Jeez!

According to US magazine, suspicions of infidelity now focus on Kate and her hunky bodyguard.  Denials run rampant. 

Kate's brother's wife "Jodi", who was a constant caregiver in previous seasons, has remained absent in the last season.  Jodi's sister's blogs have discredited Jon and Kate's good intentions toward their children as it relates to the show.  Rumors of child exploitation abound. 

Kate's new book Eight Little Faces is just now being released. Jon and Kate's new season begins on May 25th. The timing couldn't be worse.

Didn't we all see this coming? You only had to watch a few episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8 to feel the tension brewing between these two. The disgruntled husband and the nagging wife were all there for the world to see.

Could you blame them? They had eight children together. First came the twins, Cara and Maddie. Then came the surprise septuplets! The public wanted more from this interesting family. Not only was this a large family, but they had six children the same age. This brought an interesting twist to the family reality drama.

The real drama was the relationship between Jon and Kate. As mothers, we could relate to the daily frustrations of running a house while managing to keep a relationship going. We marveled at Kate's organizational skills. Her drive for perfection was exhausting. Jon always seemed like he was along for the ride. He was the perfect back-drop for Kate's OCD-like focus. He was the "fun" Dad. But, Kate ran the show. If she stopped managing the house, the family would fall apart. Did she resent him for this? Did he resent her? Did the business of TLC's popular show put too much pressure on them, or did it allow them to give the children the opportunities that they wouldn't have had otherwise?

At some point, Jon checked out. Maybe it was the constant berating and belittling in the public eye that caused him to look elsewhere. We'll never know. Families fall apart all around us. Who are we to judge who is at fault? As a mother, Kate's frustrations are understandable. We are expected to get the job done. Yet we want to feel that the Dad is in the fray with us. More often than not, it falls on the woman to do the most housework while Dad is given a free ticket to parenthood. If she doesn't get the emotional support that she needs, her frustration turns into resentment. Resentment becomes nagging. Dad resents Mom for needing his support. Often, he checks out of the relationship and begins a life away from the mother.

Should Kate kick Jon to the curb? I think he's already kicking his heels down the road. But, never fear, Kate may realize that she doesn't need a ninth child, she only needs to take care of the children that she is responsible for and herself.