Jon and Kate minus Jon and Kate

You know, normally I would just give this little news item a pass and read it only in order to cure my insomnia. But for some reason, the news of Jon & Kate from "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" separating and filing for divorce really irks me. I cannot help but wonder how their fame and subsequent egos got in the way of something special that they had.

Jon is a henpecked husband. At least, that's what the media says. When my wife was expecting our twin sons, we watched this program together. Jon wasn't henpecked then. Kate was bossy, but she wasn't as overbearing as Victim Jon is making himself out to be today.

Has Kate become more unbearable as the series has gone on? I think so. I think she believes her own hype and that has lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of the demise of their marriage.

Is this her fault? Is this his fault. They're both to blame. Jon feels emasculated on national television, and there's no coming back from that.

Kate is like an employee who gets promoted to management over fellow employees and turns into an asshole boss. The allure of perceived power without the ego-check to keep yourself ultimately on track.

As everyone's saying, this is just terrible for the children. I agree completely, but probably not for the same reason you're thinking. When your life is filmed for a television program, you give up certain pity-rights. But before, this show was inspirational for new parents who sometimes feel overwhelmed (at least in my case). Now it's turning into some sort of drama where the focus has turned from the cute kids to the fighting parents. And something that should be a private matter is now very public and it's going to be with the children for their lives.

Probably in a 5 DVD box set. Also available in Blu Ray.