<p>what does “turn the page” mean for him?..i can’t help but wonder if I will see him on another reality show (if I really watched those;) )…he mentioned something about a job… if offered. anybody have any suggested shows for him?</p>
<p>He has gone from job to job, not staying at one job very long. It will be interesting to see where he takes his job search. I don’t believe he LEFT his last job to stay home with the kids… I think that was a situation where he was now without a job and decided to remain home. My guess, he will stick with the show as long as the money, the OC bikes, and the perks keep flowing in. Maybe he can get a job helping to build those bikes.</p>
<p>I’ve said it before, but I would have done a show if I was in the least bit interesting just to stay home with my kids. Really think about this for a minute: had they not done the show and books, they would have been trying to support 8 kids while working two full time jobs. That is not an easy life and I respectfully submit that it would be much harder on the parents AND the children. Whatever else, I think Kate chose the most practical way to financially support her family. My husband and I have three kids and have always both worked fully time. That’s very, very hard on a marriage and I think the life they have chosen is better for the children, privacy issues aside. Exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed parents struggling to make ends meet and tag-teaming each other is not a recipe for a happy and peaceful home (don’t I know it!). Which brings me to my point which is that listening to them for so long talking about how they both love the kids has always made it clear that they’re in the generation of people who are parents first and partners after. Somewhere along the line, particularly with money not so tight, they should have prioritized their marriage much higher. And considered counseling. I feel bad for all of them, but I can really relate to Kate. I haven’t alienated my family, but I’ve learned to deal with a husband who is (I don’t know how to say this nicely) not the engine driving the train. Sometimes you have no choice and to the outside world that may appear emasculating, but things do have to get done. I agreed with her last night about the Crooked Houses. Even before it became an issue, I was thinking that Jon was a moron. He always strikes me as very immature. Probably shouldn’t have married so young.</p>
<p>They are both to blame here. Jon allowed Kate to rule him for 10 years and now all of a sudden doesn’t like it. Kate who came from nothing, now has money and it has clouded her judgement. If Jon didn’t want the media around - he would walk away from the show and the money - but he won’t. He needs the money and quite frankly I think likes the money. Kate we all know likes the money. I’m interested to see where this goes. I will bet that Jon goes kinda man-wild for a while, dating and the like. And I bet Kate will keep it quiet and calm and let Jon implode.</p>
<p>As far as “liking the money,” who wouldn’t when the alternative is considered?</p>
<p>zoosermom and kleibo…those are good posts !</p>
<p>i think the issue is largely about his alleged infidelity…and probably not much to do about anything else. jmho, but she acts to me like a wife who is dealing with that kind of stress in her life…not knowing why he is acting the way he is… she is being made to feel like somehow all the marraige problems are her fault…when the real issue is the alleged infidelity.</p>
<p>Good points on supporting the family. I wonder, though, if they could have done it without going over the top. It seems that all of those days away from the family on the “book tour” may have been the tipping point.</p>
<p>I think Kate is difficult, but I think that works for Jon. He can go along for the ride without any of the effort or responsibility. The flip side to her being controlling is Jon being lazy. I would have done exactly the same thing about the Crooked Houses. Actually, I wouldn’t have spared his feelings because I think it’s an example of rank stupidity.</p>
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Probably, but it must be incredibly hard for any normal human being to draw the line. I think Kate likes the good life, no question about it, but Jon does too. Heck, so would I. I still think the underlying issue, even before the infidelity, is that they became professional parents and lost their marriage. Someone needed to tell them that the marriage is the foundation of the family and that couples need to have a separate life from the kids.</p>
<p>i hope that in the future a decent guy will enter Kate’s life and make her laugh, bring her joy.</p>
<p>did you see on the news the other day where a wife sued the alleged other woman in the divorce between her and her husband? will we see anything like that?</p>
<p>I laughed when I heard a soundbite of Kate saying that everything she does, she does for “my kids” (not “our kids”). The tanning, the manicures and pedicures, the time-intensive haircut and coloring? The 1 1/2 hours on the treadmill every day? The rule that the kids can NEVER come into her bedroom? Plastic surgery for her and hairplugs for the balding husband? Bibs on five-year-olds? Non-stop matching clothes? Right. This is the equivalent of wrapping herself in the flag. Everything she does is for “my kids,” and if John doesn’t go along with it, then “he’s changed” and “he doesn’t know what he wants.” Obviously he does know what he wants – a life away from Kate, complete with sparkly earrings of his own, and the opportunity to make his own stupid choices (versus just going along with his wife’s nutty demands). </p>
<p>Obviously this couple has made LOTS of money already off this show. Had they been willing to live even a “normal” lifestyle, they could have walked away from the show and lived off what they have already earned until the kids are out of college. What Kate wants is a continuation and expansion of this money-intensive lifestyle and fame, and that’s why the show must go on. (John wants the money and the lifestyle without the show.) And now they need even more money to give the divorce lawyers a third of everything and to support three households – his, hers, and the kids’. (Or maybe Kate can find divorce lawyers who will represent both of them for free if the kids will wear t-shirts with the law firm’s name and URL on them?)</p>
<p>I am willing to bet that one or both of them file for bankruptcy within three years, and the kids never see squat of the earnings from this trainwreck.</p>
<p>As someone who hasn’t watched the show, I thought Kate’s books were based on her Christian beliefs and featured daily devotions, etc. (Is this correct?) As a self-proclaimed Christian mother role model, has Kate mentioned any sorrow and concern about breaking the vows they made before God when they married? If they felt any obligation to try counseling and everything else they could to save the marriage and view divorce as a true last resort, they certainly never mentioned it (and it seems they’ve mentioned a helluva lot).</p>
<p>condor30 - no guy with a strong self esteem and sense of self is going to put up with Kate for one minute. </p>
<p>She should be a poster child for how not to treat a spouse. </p>
<p>This is not a defense of Jon’s flaws, and indeed he has let it happen.</p>
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And he should be a poster child for how not to be a man. Real men don’t whine and lounge. I just can’t stand him. I think he’ll eventually grow up and wish he had an intact family.</p>
<p>Remember, Kate is also “suspected” of infidelity…not just Jon - he just seems to have more, um, evidence. Do you think Kate got her “girls” enhanced for Jon and their failing marriage? In the midst of marriage turmoil, would THAT be the first thing you’d think of doing?? Maybe, but not likely…</p>
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<p>I’ve never seen this show, only clips on The Soup. But from what I’ve seen, she IS the main problem in that marriage. That isn’t to excuse Jon’s behavior, but I think that marriage was dead before he ever stepped out.</p>
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I disagree completely. I have no use for lazy, spoiled, whiny men-children. It’s not attractive, endearing or helpful. And she is a vain, entitled, control-freak.</p>
<p>Just think of what their lives would have been like without the TV show/money - him an IT guy and her an RN…one of them working the night shift and one working during the day because they wouldn’t be able to afford day care for 8 kids on their salaries, crammed into a too small house, but with Kate still treating Jon the way she treats him and Jon eventually still having an affair and they get a divorce and Jon sends some child support which would be no where near enough to support 8 kids and Kate as a mom of 8 with her pre-tummy tuck body looking for a guy to date??? Their lives could be lots worse!</p>
<p>That’s how I see it Missy. Hubby and I work alternate shifts and it’s hard. Much harder than being followed by papparazzi. I wonder how much attention they would have gotten (some) had the marriage not imploded. Fuel to the fire, so to speak.</p>
<p>Or, they could have taken the ample money earned in the first few years, quit the show, not have been greedy and perhaps had enough money in the bank and a family life both.</p>
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<p>It’s interesting to try to put yourself in their shoes. The first show (before the series) got Kate the tummy tuck which she did need. A few more shows got them a bigger house and some financial security…yes, how many people would have been willing to stop or would have wanted to stop, and how many people would have seen it as the ticket to a lifestyle they otherwise couldn’t have afforded?</p>